First, we all want to send our condolences to you, Tina. We are very sorry to hear about your mom. If you need anything, please let us know.
The first book that we discussed was Blue Nights by Joan Didion. It was pretty unanimous that the book was very well written, but not our favorite book. A lot of us thought that the Joan Didion was a bit self-centered and the book was kind of like a pity book for Joan. We did think that it felt like this book and her last one were more like journal entries of how she felt during these times. We talked about how we couldn't relate to Joan because her life was so different than ours. We felt that Joan and her husband (more-so Joan) were not ready to raise children and how they got Quintana was very quick and they weren't really ready for a kid. We were trying to remember how Quintana exactly died (Joan didn't go into it much) and here is what I found:
Quintana was rushed to the hospital with the flu and a fever of 103. Over the next few days she developed pneumonia, then septic shock. She survived 50-50 odds but remained in intensive care...Quintana had to be told three times that her father had died — twice in January, as she drifted in and out of consciousness, and once more at UCLA Medical Center the following spring. The family finally held a funeral for [Quintana's father, John Gregory] Dunne, also at St. John the Divine, on March 23, 2004. Two days later, Quintana flew out to California with her husband — "to restart their life," as Didion wrote in Magical Thinking. When Didion said good-bye, Quintana seemed anxious. While leaving the airport in Los Angeles, she collapsed with a cerebral hemorrhage. Another month of touch-and-go hospitalization left her partially paralyzed. After recovering yet again, she came down with acute pancreatitis in the late spring of 2005. She died on August 26.It seems like acute pancreatitis is linked with alcoholism.
We all said that we didn't want to read any more of her books, because it was a bit depressing, but we don't think that she will be writing any more of these memoirs.
The next book that we read was The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. The group was split on this one. Lisa and myself didn't like it and Rhonda and Addie really liked it. Addie liked how they told the story about the brother through the sister, but I didn't like that about the book. I was really hoping that the author would have explored the feelings that were present in the food that the girl ate, but she mostly avoided food. The book was just not what I expected and having her dad's side of the family having superpowers didn't seem like it fit with the book. Lisa felt like the author was told to write a creative essay and this is what she came up with. Rhonda said that she felt real sympathy for the girl (I can't remember her name) and how she felt whenever she ate food. It was a quick read, which was nice!
Callah, we do hope that you will join us again one of these days even though we hear you have a new book club :) (we understand about ours being late and far from where you live!). We talked about gas and where the best prices are (Costco and Food 4 Less). Lisa brought some yummy citrus fruit for us to take. Rhonda also brought home some more cupcakes that were delicious! Rhonda even gave the bakery the idea for their new and yummy Lavender Carmel Cupcakes! Raven is now reading books and her friend Randy was there, but he was feeling a little under the weather. Addie's dog Dexter has lots and lots of energy and jumps very high!
Information for our next book club:
When: Tuesday March 27th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's House
What we are reading: River Town by Petter Hessler
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