Book group 6th October, 8pm, The Noble: 'One Morning Like a Bird' by Andrew Miller

sophie

<p>The next book group book will be <strong><em>One Morning Like a Bird</em> by Andrew Miller</strong>.</p><p>'Reviewed' by The Guardian who said:</p><blockquote style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr"><p>Tokyo in 1940 is no place for a young poet who fancies himself as a Japanese Rimbaud. Family connections and a weak constitution have so far saved Yuji Takano from military service, allowing him instead to play the flâneur with his Francophile friends and to complain about his father cutting off his allowance while others are moulded into unthinking patriots and sent to fight the Chinese. <a title="More from the Guardian on Andrew Miller" href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/andrew-miller">Andrew Miller</a> evokes the intimate internal world of Yuji and his family, beset by the grief already caused by the death of an older brother in the earthquake of 1923, and contrasts them with the coarser public emotions demanded by a society heading for war. Yuji focuses on snow settling on his bicycle saddle "like a perfect scoop of sugar" and the beguiling western freshness of Alissa, the daughter of his French teacher, while Miller details conventional middle-class Tokyo life with such intricacy that it is something of a relief when larger events outside Yuji's carefully constructed self-image forcefully intrude and reveal the irony of his pose.</p></blockquote><p>It was chosen by a new-ish book group member who loves it, so come along and argue with her if you hate it! That's when book group gets really fun!</p><p>It has been lovely to see FIVE new faces in the past two months, so as always, new people are always welcome!</p><p>We will meet at <strong>8pm at The Noble</strong>, assuming it has finished its refurb by then. If it looks like it might not be open in time, I will make an executive decision about a back-up plan - checking back here on the day for any updates is always a safe bet.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

sophie

<p>And if anyone is interested, after last month's choice, the author I was talking about who writes about Orthodox Jews in early 20th century Brooklyn is Chaim Potok.</p><p>I would recommend 'My name is Asher Lev' and 'The Chosen' (which was recommended to me by some-time book group member @KateHa!)</p><p>Very interesting and quite different to 'The Marrying of Chani Kaufman'...</p>

hannah

Hello, <div><br></div><div>Really sorry but I am unable to make tomorrow's book club. Hope you enjoy it and I will be there next month. </div><div><br></div><div>Hannah </div>

Charlo

Hi, <span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', tahoma, sans-serif; line-height: 1.7em;">I can't make it either but hope to come along next time. Have a good evening!</span>

Charlo

ps Sophie, I'm reading Lorrie Moore's Birds of America which you recommended at book group a little while ago and really enjoying it

sophie

I have just finished the book and will hopefully see some of you at the Noble in half an hour!<br><br>I still haven't been past since it has re-opened, but from the posts on here it sounds as though it is back up and running (if not particularly well-reviewed).<br>

Jenny

Sorry I've been quiet for a while - will try and make the next one.