The Village Square Cafe is our perfect venue right now. Great food, good location and a very comfy area with couches and a coffee table. It has become our regular place and we feel right at home. So our setting was the usual. What was different about this month’s meeting though, was our consensus on the book. I can’t remember another book, where we all agreed how much we loved it.
The Linnet Bird by Linda Holeman is set in the mid 1800’s. Linny Gow eventually manages to escape her life of prostitution by sailing to India on one of the “fishing fleet” ships, as a companion to her friend Faith, who is going over to try and find a husband. Her life in Colonial India does not prove to be as fresh a start as she hoped. Holeman manages, without being overly verbose, to provide the reader with a vivid picture of Linny’s difficult life and all the hardships she had to endure.
Our group felt that we learned much about life in Colonial India at that time, with it’s very distinct social hierarchy and protocols for behavior. Even the servants had a hierarchy within the households that they worked in. We liked that Linny’s character, had the courage to buck the system when ever she could. We discussed the price she paid for being different and how that would translate today. We asked if we would feel brave enough to stand up for what we believe in, if there was a difficult personal price to pay. The point was made that when one does not agree with the status quo, one pays a price no matter what one does. If one sticks one’s neck out, there is usually a consequence. If one doesn’t, however, one then has to live with not being true to one’s self.
Some of us had not managed to quite finish the book by the time of the meeting, but still felt strongly that we wanted to attend and participate in the discussion. Those that did finish, were all in agreement that they liked the ending and that Linda Holeman, brought the book to a satisfying conclusion.
If you have read this book, what are your thoughts?
Did you like it as much as our group did?
What did you think of the ending?
We would love to hear your input.
Friday Morning Bookclub 
Janine,
I really enjoyed your synopsis of our March meeting. I agree the Village Square Cafe is a perfect venue for our meetings and as the weather gets warmer it will be nice to sit outside!! It is rare that we all loved the book– one of the things I like best about being in a book club are the various viewpoints of a book. I’m appealing to other book clubs, or anyone who loves to read, please comment on our blog– We would love to hear from you.
Comment by Audrey — March 20, 2010 @ 5:44 pm |