The Book: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1965)
The Goods: Generally credited as the origin of the true crime genre, In Cold Blood is a Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel detailing the grisly 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, as well as Capote’s study of the two killers.
The Report: Despite the face that we’re living in an age awash with all things true crime, book club was impressed with In Cold Blood, and found the experience of reading it chilling and a little creepy. Nonetheless, many of us found it impossible to discuss this novel without discussing how it was written: Capote’s methods, his interpretation of the events, and his relationship to the real-life killers. ok
The Book: Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (2009)
The Goods: Half the Sky is both an investigation into women’s oppression worldwide and a moving call to action to economically and socially empower women in developing countries – not just because it’s the morally correct thing to do, but also because the authors believe that it’s the most effective way to fight poverty and extremism. To make their case, Pulitzer-Prize winning authors Kristof and WuDunn focus on three major issues facing women around the world — forced prostitution and sex trafficking, gender violence, and maternal mortality — blending grim reportage and ample statistics with individual stories of women who are triumphing over their circumstances and making real change for their families and communities. The authors also observe and report on the pros and cons of varied international development/aid strategies and argue that grassroots, ground-up activism and support is the most effective way to fuel change. ok
The Book: I am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett (2009)
The Goods: I am Not Sidney Poitier is – blarg – a bit hard to blurb. It’s the story of a young man named Not Sidney Poitier who looks, in fact, an awful lot like Sidney Poitier, and his coming-of-age, which the author (Percival Everett, not to be confused with the novel’s character Percival Everett, who turns up throughout the story along with a hilarious fictional version of Ted Turner) casts as an intertextual adventure through Sidney Poitier films. (Did the best I could, briefly.)
The Report: Book club really enjoyed I am Not Sidney Poitier. We found it nearly impossible, though, to talk about the novel without moving the conversation into more theoretical territory: what postmodern narratives can or can’t achieve; why our approaches to the book may have created very different types of enjoyment (some readers felt that this was an enjoyable, thoughtful text that ultimately didn’t move them while others – okay, really just ME — felt greatly moved by the identity crisis at the heart of the novel AND how that may have been informed by our relationship to literature/film in general); and how literature constructs identity and race. But we did also talk about THE book! ok
[I’m lucky enough to be a member of two rockin’ book clubs. Since I often find myself marveling at how thoughtful and fun our the discussions are, I thought I would share them with the universe. Enjoy!]
The Book: Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Economic Collapse of the United States of America by Brian Francis Slattery (2008)
The Goods: Liberation is speculative fiction that contemplates the aftermath of a complete American economic collapse. (Mind you, this novel was published before – and anticipated some of – the recession we actually saw this past year: creepy.) It’s a dystopian – but amazingly hopeful – vision of America where the institution of slavery has been re-established, starving communities struggle to rebuild, the New Sioux roam the plains, and New York is ruled by a villain named the Aardvark. It’s also a rousing adventure, and the action revolves around a gang of supercriminals called the Slick Six, who reunite to restore law and order. (Genre/Pynchon fans: If that doesn’t sound rad, I really don’t know how you define radness.) ok
