July 2010 Meeting

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

Quote from Donna:
"A good read overall. I wasn't looking forward to the Columbine stuff, but that was most interesting part of the book. The narrator, Caelum Quirk, was often annoying and whiney, but then first person accounts tend to be self indulgent and whiney. Get the f*** over yourself. This book was way too long. Just because you're famous doesn't mean you don't need the red pencil. Did we really need to hear about the beer company? Killing off Maureen at the end seemed contrived especially with a sudden cerebral hemorage. Even though I knew from the moment Caelum looked back after visiting that she would die".

Donna, did you say a good read? But what did you like about it? I agree that the Columbine story, its aftermath, and the question of why it happened, why those two boys, was the most interesting part of the story. I would have liked to focus on that and Caelum and Maureen and those things immediately affecting them. For example, Lolly is a fascinating character, but did we need the detail about the prison and everything about the family? It could have been condensed and many of the subplots eliminated completely. Sure, they were related and often interesting, but enough is enough. I also like Velvet and Caelum's friend (the baker). I will say that W.L. is excellent at creating interesting, well-rounded characters, but may need some work on plotting. Or maybe his research and varied interests just got the better of him.

This was a great discussion book--we talked about it practically the whole meeting with few digressions.

Hosting and treats (delicious Hello Dolly Bars) from Mary Dowe.