A Death in the Family by James Agee
Other writers describe this book as a near-perfect work of art. The prose is poetic and musical, and the characterizations are so true to life that you feel you are part of the family, insular and innocent in a small Tennessee town in 1915. With incredible insight into the inner workings of the very heart and soul of these characters, Agee evokes his own experience as a child whose father died suddenly in an automobile accident, and the subsequent impact on his mother and other relatives. ~ Beth, Broadview
The Ha-Ha by Dave King
Howard has lived an isolated existence ever since he suffered a disfiguring head wound in Vietnam. Mentally, he’s as acute as ever, but due to his injury he cannot talk, read or write. Even insignificant encounters are agonizing, so Howard has become an emotional recluse. Then his former high school sweetheart goes into rehab and asks Howard to look after her nine-year-old son. Howard is forced out of his routine and the shell of his isolation is cracked. You won’t want to miss getting to know the characters in this quiet, healing novel about the miracle of love. ~ Rosemary, Greenwood
Old Filth by Jane Gardam
Anglophiles everywhere, meet your new literary grand dame! Don’t be put off by the odd title: Filth, or “Failed in London, Try Hong Kong,” is the moniker given to Sir Edward Feathers, a Raj orphan and renowned judge who leaves China to retire in rural Dorset. Old Filth’s life is sent into a tailspin when his wife dies and the past comes back to haunt and ultimately save him. If you enjoy the psychological fiction of Iris Murdoch and appreciate dry, British humor, then Gardam is for you. ~ Misha, Fiction
More for book groups: One of our favorite blogs is Booklist magazine’s Book Group Buzz, with its regular “Good Books for Book Groups” feature. Misha, a librarian in the Fiction Department at Seattle Public Library, is a regular columnist there, as is Nick DiMartino from the University Bookstore in Seattle. For more suggestions on books that are good for group discussions, see SPL’s book group page and open the “Recommended Books for Discussion” PDF. Or perhaps you’d like to chime in right here, right now with something YOUR book group has read and enjoyed recently!
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