Group Read -> May 2019 -> Nomination thread (A book about the 1910s won by The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West)

[Story]

Judy wrote: "I've decided to nominate The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in 1916.
"

Thanks for nominating this. I've just downloaded a copy to read whether or not it wins the vote.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Hugh wrote: "Just catching up with this thread. I read Gossip from the Forest last year and it would make for an interesting discussion. Keneally succeeded brilliantly in bringing out the human elements of a st..."

Indeed! This is the 3rd of the nominations I have read and thoroughly enjoyed.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

The Perfect Summer: England 1911, Just Before the Storm is available in the US on Kindle, hardcover and paperback at not unreasonable prices.

[Jill]

Storyheart wrote: "Judy wrote: "I've decided to nominate The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in 1916.
"

Thanks for no..."
Me too.

[Nigeyb]

Given the significant enthusiasm expressed for a number of the books that have been nominated, this could be quite a close run poll.

I plan to put the poll up tomorrow so hurry, hurry, hurry if you want to get another nomination in


Nominations so far...

Nigeyb: The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
Jamie: Girl Waits with Gun (2015) by Amy Stewart
Susan: Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport
Roman Clodia: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Jan: Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
Val: Mr Britling Sees it Through by H.G. Wells
Judy: The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore

[Judy]

Thanks for the info about The Perfect Summer, Elizabeth. I will stick with The Home and the World but will bear that one in mind for the future.

[Judy]

Thanks Jill and Storyheart - I plan to read The Home and the World whether it wins or not too. :)

[Pamela]

Judy wrote: "Thanks Jill and Storyheart - I plan to read The Home and the World whether it wins or not too. :)"

Me too!

[Nigeyb]

Perhaps a buddy read for The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore if it doesn't prevail in the poll?

[Judy]

Sounds like a possibility! Let's wait for the poll, though. :)

[Susan]

Wow, we have a lot of nominations this month. I loved The Perfect Summer.

[Jan C]

Judy wrote: "Just thought I'd mention a couple of other books I considered nominating (along with many others!) ... Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad (fantastic novel but maybe a b..."

I have Perfect Summer - available on Kindle here for $9.

[Brian E]

Nigeyb wrote: "Perhaps a buddy read for The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore if it doesn't prevail in the poll?"

If it loses, for anyone both patient and willing to dabble in other Goodreads groups, the Never Too Late to Read Classics group is planning to read it in December, 2019.

[Nigeyb]

The poll is up, vote now.....


https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

[Nigeyb]

Pollwatch...


Gossip from the Forest 2 votes, 33.3%
Mr. Britling Sees it Through 1 vote, 16.7%
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters, #1) 1 vote, 16.7%
The Return of the Soldier 1 vote, 16.7%
The Home and the World 1 vote, 16.7%
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge 0 votes, 0.0%
The Custom of the Country 0 votes, 0.0%
6 total votes

Very tight in the poll

Have you voted yet?

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...


Who nominated what, and links to each book....

Nigeyb: The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
Jamie: Girl Waits with Gun (2015) by Amy Stewart
Susan: Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport
Roman Clodia: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Jan: Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
Val: Mr Britling Sees it Through by H.G. Wells
Judy: The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore

[Nigeyb]

Pollwatch...


The Return of the Soldier 3 votes, 27.3%
Mr. Britling Sees it Through 2 votes, 18.2%
Gossip from the Forest 2 votes, 18.2%
The Home and the World 2 votes, 18.2%
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge 1 vote, 9.1%
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters, #1) 1 vote, 9.1%
The Custom of the Country 0 votes, 0.0%

The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West with a very narrow lead. Things can change very easily.

Have you voted yet?

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...


Who nominated what, and links to each book....

Nigeyb: The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
Jamie: Girl Waits with Gun (2015) by Amy Stewart
Susan: Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport
Roman Clodia: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Jan: Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
Val: Mr Britling Sees it Through by H.G. Wells
Judy: The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore

[Nigeyb]

Pollwatch...


The Return of the Soldier 3 votes, 25.0%
Gossip from the Forest 3 votes, 25.0%
Mr. Britling Sees it Through 2 votes, 16.7%
The Home and the World 2 votes, 16.7%
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge 1 vote, 8.3%
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters, #1) 1 vote, 8.3%
The Custom of the Country 0 votes, 0.0%

It's neck and neck between The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West and Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally


Have you voted yet? Your vote (or change of vote) could be decisive...

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...


Who nominated what, and links to each book....

Nigeyb: The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
Jamie: Girl Waits with Gun (2015) by Amy Stewart
Susan: Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport
Roman Clodia: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Jan: Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
Val: Mr Britling Sees it Through by H.G. Wells
Judy: The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore

[Nigeyb]

Pollwatch...


The Return of the Soldier 5 votes, 33.3%
Gossip from the Forest 3 votes, 20.0%
Mr. Britling Sees it Through 2 votes, 13.3%
Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge 2 votes, 13.3%
The Home and the World 2 votes, 13.3%
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters, #1) 1 vote, 6.7%
The Custom of the Country 0 votes, 0.0%

The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West back out in front


Have you voted yet? Your vote (or change of vote) could be decisive...

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...


Who nominated what, and links to each book....

Nigeyb: The Return of the Soldier (1918) by Rebecca West
Jamie: Girl Waits with Gun (2015) by Amy Stewart
Susan: Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge by Helen Rappaport
Roman Clodia: The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
Jan: Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
Val: Mr Britling Sees it Through by H.G. Wells
Judy: The Home and the World by Rabindranath Tagore

[Nigeyb]

We have a winner, it is.....


Rebecca West's debut novel The Return of the Soldier, first published in 1918.

It's very short at 112 pages, so easy to fit into our punishing reading schedules, and whilst ostensibly about a soldier returning from WW1 it's apparently much more focussed on the women in his life.

Here's the blurb....

Writing her first novel during World War I, West examines the relationship between three women and a soldier suffering from shell-shock. This novel of an enclosed world invaded by public events also embodies in its characters the shifts in England's class structures at the beginning of the twentieth century.