Group Reads -> April 2023 -> Nomination thread (Families) -> Won by Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker

[Nigeyb]

Every month we discuss a book on a specific era or a theme. This book will be the winner of a group poll.


Our April 2023 theme is...


Families


Please nominate a 20th century book (either written in the 20th century or set in it) that is centred around families, and that you would like to read and discuss. It could be fiction or non-fiction

Feel free to interpret the theme however you choose

Please supply the title, author, a brief synopsis, and anything else you'd like to mention about the book, and why you think it might make a good book to discuss.


Happy nominating.

[Roman Clodia]

Those tight white trousers are quite something!

[Rosina]

My first thought was The Man of Property, the first of the Forsyth Saga by John Galsworthy, which I have never read, nor watched when it was such compulsive viewing on a Sunday evening that vicars changed the timing of evensong to allow parishioners to do both.

But then I decided to nominate the family tale that has it all (and I mean all!)

My nomination . by Robert Graves. Into the 'autobiography' of Clau-Clau-Claudius, the pitiful stammerer who was destined to become Emperor in spite of himself, Graves packs the everlasting intrigues, the depravity, the bloody purges and mounting cruelty of the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, soon to culminate in the deified insanity of Caligula.

I first read it while bed-ridden at the age of 11. My mother knew I'd loved Rosemary Sutcliff's Roman stories, so thought this would keep me occupied. And of course I was engrossed, in later years, by the TV series.

[Nigeyb]

Great nomination Rosina


That BBC adaptation was quite something

Yes RC, quite the look from Mr Brady Snr 🤩

[Debra]

Since everyone in the whole world (except for me) has read this family saga, I'm not sure whether to add this to the recommendations or suggest it as a buddy read. Thoughts?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

[Roman Clodia]

Nigeyb wrote: "Yes RC, quite the look from Mr Brady Snr 🤩"

Ah, is that the Brady Bunch? Know the name, never saw it. Might have been scarred for life by those trousers 🤭

[Roman Clodia]

Debra wrote: "Since everyone in the whole world (except for me) has read this family saga..."

I haven't read it either so would love to see it in the nominations.

I immediately thought of The Godfather and Roots: The Saga of an American Family but as this is my Year of reading women, I need a female nomination.

[David]

Hmm. The House of the Spirits could be good for a group read. Magical realist family epic. And unlike my last nomination, it's both set and written in the 20th century.

[Debra]

David wrote: "Hmm. The House of the Spirits could be good for a group read. Magical realist family epic. And unlike my last nomination, it's both set and written in the 20th century."

Ooh, that has been on my "to-read" list for quite a while.

[Kathleen]

Ah, the Brady's. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

My first thought was The Godfather too. My second was a book I loved, but probably not a good nomination: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson. Then Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, which may be too much of a downer. Then Midnight's Children, probably too long. Then The Hundred Secret Senses, but people tend to love or hate Amy Tan.

So I'm having fun thinking, but haven't hit on a nomination yet.

[Debra]

Kathleen wrote: "Ah, the Brady's. Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!

My first thought was The Godfather too. My second was a book I loved, but probably not a good nomination: Housekeeping by [author..."

Housekeeping has also been on my radar. I loved Robinson's other books.

[Chrissie]

All of these suggested are really good books. I've read all except
Amy Tan's and Housekeeping, but I like Tan better than Robinson. Tan's is thus the one I would vote for. So far at least.

ETA: Ooops. have also read Housekeeping. I guess I have tried to wipe it from my head. I gave it one star.

[Kathleen]

This is encouraging--thanks, Chrissie! I highly recommend Housekeeping, but it is an odd and dark read, and I've read it twice and probably wouldn't read it again now.

The Hundred Secret Senses has been calling to me from my physical bookshelf, so I will go ahead and nominate it,



The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan, published 1995.

From the Publisher:
Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of Southwestern China, Amy Tan’s The Hundred Secret Senses is a tale of American assumptions shaken by Chinese ghosts and broadened with hope. In 1962, five-year-old Olivia meets the half-sister she never knew existed, eighteen-year-old Kwan from China, who sees ghosts with her “yin eyes.” Decades later, Olivia describes her complicated relationship with her sister and her failing marriage, as Kwan reveals her story, sweeping the reader into the splendor and violence of mid-nineteenth century China. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, Tan conjures up a story of the inheritance of love, its secrets and senses, its illusions and truths.

[Nigeyb]

Debra wrote:


"Since everyone in the whole world (except for me) has read One Hundred Years of Solitude, I'm not sure whether to add this to the recommendations or suggest it as a buddy read. Thoughts?"

I read it a few decades ago and found it tedious but then I'm generally not a great fan of Magic Realism. I'm sure plenty here would enjoy a (re)read



Thanks for the nominations...


Nominations

I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Rosina)
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan (Kathleen)

I think these are the only two confirmed nominations so far. If I've got that wrong please let me know

[Sonia]

I have three books on my shelves that I intend to read this year that would fit this category. Do any of them appeal?

The Fountain Overflows
The Hiding Place
Cassandra at the Wedding

[Chrissie]

Does it help to nominate the same book twice? If so.,add me for Amy Tan's.

[Nigeyb]

Sonia, I only know Rebecca West of that trio but have not read any of her fiction


Chrissie, nominating twice makes no difference - it's the poll which determines the outcome

[Chrissie]

Nigeyb wrote: "Sonia, I only know Rebecca West of that trio but have not read any of her fiction


Chrissie, nominating twice makes no difference - it's the poll which determines the outcome"

OK, I'll vote for Tan's in the poll.

[Roman Clodia]

Sonia wrote: "I have three books on my shelves that I intend to read this year that would fit this category. Do any of them appeal?"

Cassandra at the Wedding is on my TBR.

I've read The Fountain Overflows and did like it - it goes in an unexpected direction with poltergeists but certainly fits the theme very well.

[Kathleen]

I've got Cassandra at the wedding on my TBR too, and The Hiding Place looks very good.

[Roman Clodia]

I'm nominating A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux.

This is Ernaux's reckoning with her father (there's a companion book about her mother) and her working-class upbringing in rural France. She went on to win the Nobel prize last year and I've loved everything of hers I've read. Worth noting it's very short, 80 pages in this edition, and picks up on themes from her other writing about class, social mobility, the way education can both open up the world but also separate you from family and childhood.

Annie Ernaux’s father died exactly two months after she passed her exams for a teaching certificate. Barely educated and valued since childhood strictly for his labour, Ernaux’s father had grown into a hard, practical man who showed his family little affection. Narrating his slow ascent towards material comfort, Ernaux’s cold observation in A Man’s Place reveals the shame that haunted her father throughout his life. She scrutinizes the importance he attributed to manners and language that came so unnaturally to him as he struggled to provide for his family with a grocery store and café in rural France. Over the course of the book, Ernaux grows up to become the uncompromising observer now familiar to the world, while her father matures into old age with a staid appreciation for life as it is and for a daughter he cautiously, even reluctantly admires.

[Blaine]

Great nominations so far.

I'd like to nominate a slightly odd tale Kiss Myself Goodbye

Aunt Munca never told the truth about anything. Calling herself after the mouse in a Beatrix Potter story, she was already a figure of mystery during the childhood of her nephew Ferdinand Mount. Half a century later, a series of startling revelations sets him off on a tortuous quest to find out who this extraordinary millionairess really was. What he discovers is shocking and irretrievably sad, involving multiple deceptions, false identities and abandonments. The story leads us from the back streets of Sheffield at the end of the Victorian age to the highest echelons of English society between the wars.

Kiss Myself Goodbye is both an enchanting personal memoir like the author's bestselling Cold Cream, and a voyage into a vanished moral world. An unconventional tale of British social history told backwards, its cryptic and unforgettable protagonist Munca joins the ranks of memorable aunts in literature, from Dickens' Betsy Trotwood to Graham Greene's Aunt Augusta.

[Nigeyb]

A great set of nominations. Already a tough choice


Nominations...

I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Rosina)
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan (Kathleen)
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux (Roman Clodia)
Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca by Ferdinand Mount (Ben)

[Susan]

I would like to nominate Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy

This is about their family relationship and also the 'family' of the Bloomsbury group. I hope that counts?

This is the story of a deep and close relationship between two sisters - Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. The influence they exerted over each others lives, their competitiveness, the fierce love they had for each other and also their intense rivalry is explored here with subtlety and compassion. The thoughts, motives and actions of these two remarkably artistic women who jointly created the Bloomsbury Group is revealed with all its intricacies in this moving biography.

[Roman Clodia]

Ooh, that looks fantastic, Susan - I'd love to read that.

[Debra]

Oh yes! I would like to read that, as well.

[Jan C]

Not really interested in many of those nominees and only have one of them.

I'll nominate The Soong Sisters by Emily Hahn. A biography of three sisters in China which takes us through both world wars.

I've had this on my Kindle for a while. Although I got it when it was on sale, which it doesn't appear to be at the moment here.

[WndyJW]

My fingers are crossed for Cassandra at the Wedding which I just got for for Christmas or One Hundred Years of Solitude, my first literary fiction novel, (previously it was whatever was popular at the time or the Catherine Cookson novels that my mother loved.) I’m ready to reread One Hundred Years of Solitude.

[Sonia]

As there is some interest in Cassandra at the Wedding I will nominate it. If it is not picked (there are other great choices) I would love to buddy read it sometime this year if anyone would like to join in.

[Susan]

I would enjoy re-reading I, Claudius. Can I see a few buddy reads emerging from this collection of suggestions?

[Roman Clodia]

I would also love to re-read I, Claudius - I read it at about 13, finished it and went straight back to the beginning and read it again!

I'd definitely join buddy reads for One Hundred Years... which I've never read, Cassandra, and the Virginia and Vanessa book. Let's see how the poll works out and then we can decide.

[Nigeyb]

What an array of tempting titles


Nominations so far...

I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Rosina)
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan (Kathleen)
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux (Roman Clodia)
Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca by Ferdinand Mount (Ben)
Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy by Jane Dunn (Susan)
The Soong Sisters by Emily Hahn (Jan)
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker (Sonia)

I don't think One Hundred Years of Solitude was a nomination. Please let me know if that's not right

[Rosina]

I would be happy to have a buddy read of I, Claudius. (or I Clavdivs as it was also known). Nominating it here prompted me to get the DVD set - we no longer have a VHS player for the tape set.

[Roman Clodia]

Are you nominating, Nigeyb?

[Susan]

I'm in Rosina - although it might win the vote, of course :)

[Nigeyb]

Roman Clodia wrote:


"Are you nominating, Nigeyb?"

I've been looking around for something suitable but drawn a blank

Given we've got such a plethora of nominations already I think I'll leave it this month

Is anyone else thinking of nominating?

[Debra]

I will nominate One Hundred Years of Solitude

[Nigeyb]

Thanks Debra


Nominations so far...

I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Rosina)
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan (Kathleen)
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux (Roman Clodia)
Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca by Ferdinand Mount (Ben)
Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy by Jane Dunn (Susan)
The Soong Sisters by Emily Hahn (Jan)
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker (Sonia)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (Debra)

Anyone else nominating?

[Susan]

Wow, more nominations than we've had for a while?

[Judy]

Not me - so many to choose from already!

[WndyJW]

I’d love a buddy read of Cassandra at the Wedding and I, Claudius.

[Nigeyb]

Last chance to nominate


I'll get the poll up tomorrow

[Nigeyb]

Time to vote....


https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...


Nominations...

I, Claudius by Robert Graves (Rosina)
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan (Kathleen)
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux (Roman Clodia)
Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca by Ferdinand Mount (Ben)
Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy by Jane Dunn (Susan)
The Soong Sisters by Emily Hahn (Jan)
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker (Sonia)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (Debra)

[Roman Clodia]

Thanks Nigeyb - I think this is one of the hardest polls to decide what to vote for, I may do some vote-changing once we see how things are going.

[Nigeyb]

Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker has a commanding lead....



https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...



Still time for things to change though



Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker - 6 votes, 40.0%



The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan - 3 votes, 20.0%

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez - 3 votes, 20.0%



I, Claudius by Robert Graves - 1 vote, 6.7%

The Soong Sisters by Emily Hahn - 1 vote, 6.7%

Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca by Ferdinand Mount - 1 vote, 6.7%



A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux - 0 votes

Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy by Jane Dunn - 0 votes

[WndyJW]

My fingers are crossed for Cassandra!

[Nigeyb]

It's still looking good Wndy...


Cassandra at the Wedding - 7 votes, 43.8%
The Hundred Secret Senses - 4 votes, 25.0%
One Hundred Years of Solitude - 2 votes, 12.5%

[Debra]

It does look good!

[Blaine]

Warning: a plug for Aunt Munca!

Cassandra's win can only be bad news! Oh well, no one will listen

[WndyJW]

Oh, no, Ben. You didn’t like Cassandra at the Wedding or you just really want to red Kiss Myself Goodbye?