February: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole is an American comic masterpiece.
His story bursts with wholly original character, denizens of New Orleans’ lower
depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and
low comic adventures. (Kisor, Chicago Sun-Times)
March: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian
History of the American West by Dee Brown is Dee
Brown’s classic, eloquent, meticulously documented account of the systematic
destruction of the American Indian, depicting the series of battles, massacres,
and broken treaties that finally left them and their people demoralized and
decimated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity
changed forever our vision of how the West was won, and lost. It tells a story
that should not be forgotten, and so must be retold from time to time.
April: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a finely
wrought, deeply moving family drama that illuminates this acclaimed author's
signature themes: the immigrant experience, the clash of cultures, the tangled
ties between generations. The Namesake
takes the Ganguli family from their tradition-bound life in Calcutta through
their fraught transformation into Americans.
May: The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood
Among Ghosts by Maxine Hong Kingston. A Chinese American woman tells of
the Chinese myths, family stories and events of her California childhood that
have shaped her identity.
June: Molokai by O.
A. Bushnell. The story of Molokai are about Kalaupapa,
accessible only from the sea, was "The Given Grave," where victims of
the dreaded disease were sent to die, exiled in a desperate attempt to halt the
spread of this horror newly come to the islands. There was no hope--until the
coming of Father Damien, who fought to bring a measure of human dignity to the
suffering.
No meeting in July
August: The Round House by Louise Erdrich. Written
with undeniable urgency, and illuminating the harsh realities of contemporary
life in a community where Ojibwe and white live uneasily together, The
Round House is a brilliant and entertaining novel, a masterpiece of
literary fiction. Louise Erdrich embraces tragedy, the comic, a spirit world
very much present in the lives of her all-too-human characters, and a tale of
injustice that is, unfortunately, an authentic reflection of what happens in
our own world today.
September: Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns is the
undeniably entertaining and extraordinarily moving account of small-town
Southern life in a bygone era. Brimming with characters who are wise and loony,
unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Olive Ann Burns’s classic
bestseller is a timeless, funny, and resplendent treasure.
October: The
Sorrow of War: A Novel of North Vietnam by Bao Ninh, a former
North Vietnamese soldier, provides a strikingly honest look at how the Vietnam
War forever changed his life, his country, and the people who live there.
Originaly published against government wishes in Vietnam because of its
nonheroic, non-ideological tone.
November: Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. Imaginary conversations between
Marco Polo and his host, the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan, conjure up cities of
magical times.
December: The Reeducation of Cherry Truong by
Aimee Phan is the sweeping story of two spirited and unforgettable
families---the Truongs and the Vos---and their yearning for reconciliation,
redemption, and a place to call home.
January: King
Leopold’s Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa
by Adam Hochschild is the
haunting account of a megalomaniac of monstrous proportions, a man as cunning,
charming, and cruel as any of the great Shakespearean villains. Adam Hochschild
brings this largely untold story alive with the wit and skill. With great power
and compassion, King Leopold's Ghost will brand the tragedy of the Congo--too
long forgotten--onto the conscience of the West.
Criteria for selection: Glenn DeVoogd picks the books with input from book club members. Almost all books get a 4 star (out of 5) rating. Most books are adult fiction tending toward those with a historical or set in faraway places to give the readers a better sense for the range of who we are as people now and in the past. To a certain degree, in our book selections, we try to reeducate our understanding of history with a bias toward the poor and marginalized.
