We had a most enjoyable book club meeting yesterday as we always do. How fortunate I am to have such good, dear friends, generous, funny, kind, and interesting, yes interesting! Our lives are nothing exceptional, but it’s the observations, the experiences – good and not so good, fortunate and not so lucky, the ‘take’ on life, the universe and everything. We rotate round each other’s houses and yesterday we were at Phil’s and because the weather was so really pleasant, we sat outside in her wonderful garden, under a parasol and talked about books and enjoyed the lunch she had prepared and swigged elderflower cordial – too hot for wine!
Our discussion ranged over our lives, the prospective house moves of two of us, the book, the gruelling exams one of us was undertaking, our children, the book, the state of the world, our recent adventures, the book, TV programmes… yes, in a way, the book whichever it is comes second to our enjoyment of being together and updating the gang on our lives. I gave my opinion of the book here a couple of days ago, ‘immensely dull’ I said; one friend agreed, and was even more forthright, two others loved it, and the exam-taker understandably hadn’t managed to read it but definitely would once she was free! It was interesting here the book’s fans talk about it with such relish, they loved the long conversations, they loved the light touch, they engaged with the characters completely. This is why our book group is so good, we can have completely opposite ideas about our chosen ‘read’ and yet still enjoy and love being together.
I’m slightly nervous about the next book which I have chosen. It’s ‘Undercurrent’ by a most marvellous author, Natasha Carthew, who is quite a different sort of writer, an absolutely brilliant writer in my opinion.
Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people’s lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches. In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature. This is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.
Whatever my chums think, I will be really interested to hear their opinions, one of us will have moved house by then, one of us will have finished their exams, one of us may have some good news on their house move, and all of us will have a lovely time just being together!
My featured image is of a wonderful peony in Phil’s garden.
Lois Elsden 