On Friday 30 January ten book group members met at The Javea Golf Club to enjoy our annual post-Christmas Lunch, as always Jose made us welcome and comfortable. After lunch we went on to discuss our December and January books.
Not, I fear our favourite books.
The first was, WHERE THREE ROADS MEET by Salley Vickers. This is a retelling of Oedipus’ story and his age-old crime, a well-known myth of the western world, explored through eyes of Sigmund Freud while in London where he is dying of cancer.Salley Vickers is a renown novelist and most of group were very familiar with her previous novels and thoroughly enjoyed them, this book however did not inspire or engage any of us except for one of the group. Most of us finding it an extremely tedious and a difficult to comprehend book and frankly for the majority of us, not worth reading.
Salley Vickers, so I read, was herself a psychoanalyst, which probably explains her own interest in the subject plus a reworking of the Myths and Classics seems to be popular amongst publishers now.
The second book we discussed was Helen Kellers autobiography. Simply called THE STORY OF MY LIFE. The group are largely of an age to remember as children being told about Helen Keller who at only 19 months old suffered an illness that robbed her of her hearing and sight. This is and was an unimaginable tragedy however with her long-term teacher Anne Sullivan (The true heroine of Helen’s Life) Helen learns to talk and write go to college and university and in short, she leads an active and highly successful life.
Again, a very negative reaction from most of the group who, while appreciating the courage and perseverance required by Helen and Anne to succeed, it simply did not come across in her story. There was a beautiful use of language but somehow it failed to touch us and so much of what must have been a horrendously difficult young life, full of anxiety and frustration was glossed over.
One should say that Helen came from a financially comfortable family with a network of acquaintances who were key to finding Anne Sullivan and all the new resources that were slowly becoming available to blind and deaf children. A child in less comfortable or affluent circumstances would, I feel, not have fared so well, nevertheless Helen was a formidable woman who died at the great age of 88 years.
The next book group meeting for members will be on 27 February to discuss THE OXFORD MURDERS by Guillermo Martinez.
Gaby Mauger, Group Leader