The book club met to discuss February by Lisa Moore. This book won CBC’s 2013 Canada Reads. If you are interested in Canadian fiction, www.cbc.ca/books is a great resource. February turned out to be a depressing book to read in March while still in the midst of this never-ending harsh winter. The depth of Helen’s grief and the descriptions of the cold and ice of the Atlantic Ocean colour the entire book. The book uses the real-life tragedy of the 1982 sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig as the backdrop. Helen’s husband Cal dies on the rig while she is pregnant with their fourth child.
The story bounces back and forth between the present day lives of Helen and her oldest child John, and 25 years earlier when Cal dies. Helen is still in deep mourning for her husband and hasn’t really moved on with her life. Helen thinks obsessively about what Cal was doing when the rig started to sink, and the details of how he died. She is tortured by these thoughts. This book has a very minimal plot and is like reading a person’s stream of consciousness; a distracted, choppy one at that. This makes it somewhat confusing and difficult to get into the story. There are some humorous observations to occasionally break the bleakness of the book, such as Helen’s description of the other people in yoga class. The book club member’s reviews were mixed. It seemed that those who enjoyed the book had a traumatic event in their life and were able to identify with Helen’s character.
The Chestermere Public Library’s Novel book club is a group of readers who meet by the Library’s fireplace on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00pm to discuss the current book selection, and anything else that comes to mind! The only requirements to join are that you have a Library membership and are over 18 years old. Read the book and come to the meeting, even if you don’t finish it (although our discussion will certainly reveal spoilers!). No registration is required, and everyone is welcome to attend. The book is available to check out from the Library about a month before the meeting, and will usually include a discussion guide. Also check out our Facebook group if you want to participate but can’t make it to meetings.
The next meeting is on April 17 at 7:00pm to discuss The Dinner by Herman Koch. Pick up the book at the Library and come join us!
