book club catch-up

my book club met last night to discuss our reading of jhumpa lahiri's book the namesake. we ate samosa, rasgula (milk balls that are sweet & a dessert), and burfi. it was all very yummy & our discussion was interesting, diverse, and engaging. we all liked the book with mixed reviews of specific characters. we all found her to be a captivating writer with vivid descriptions of culture, food, and traditions. i think i enjoyed it so much because it was a different culture than i have read much about. i was captivated by this story of immigrant parents and their first born children particularly the main character, gogal, and his assimilation between two world.


our october book was howard's end, which i did not finish, but has been a crowd favorite. i loved being in old england with ladies and gentlemen, but also the delicate topics of class & money, land & family. we also briefly discussed how on beauty echoes part of howard's end, yet with much disdain since no one had any affinity for on beauty.







on my own, i read this anita diamant book. it was one that i kept asking myself why i was still reading.... it wasn't that it was terrible; it just wasn't all that great. i guess at some point i was curious about how the story ended which means i guess i found some sort of connection to the characters. it was interesting but more because of the concept of the novel: a historic town whose disappearance she fictionalizes. so.... no, don't read this book.