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BOTM Nominations & Polls
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June 2024 BOTM Nominations
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"The Go Between" by LP Hartley. 1953. A hot summer vacation turns into a coming of age lesson as a young man becomes the go between for a friend's sister and two men. It has been said the heat of the English summer is spot on.
ah yes, The past is a foreign country. :)
I would like to nominateThe Beautiful Summer (1949) - Cesare Pavese
Italy, 1930s. It's the height of summer, and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in a dazzling new world of bohemian artists and intoxicating freedom. Under the spell of her new friends, Ginia soon falls in love with Guido, an enigmatic young painter. It's the start of a desperate love affair, charged with false hope and overwhelming passion - destined to last no longer than the course of a summer.
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Thank you, Larry!
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The Beautiful Summer (1949) - Cesare Pavese
Italy, 1930s. It's the height of summer, and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. ..."
That's a great pick, Jazzy. I'm happy people are taking to the theme.
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What a prime example of our theme, Cali.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Three Summers by Margarita Liberaki (1946)Three Summers is the story of three sisters growing up in the countryside near Athens before the Second World War. Living in a big old house surrounded by a beautiful garden are Maria, the oldest sister, as sexually bold as she is eager to settle down and have a family of her own; beautiful but distant Infanta; and dreamy and rebellious Katerina, through whose eyes the story is mostly observed. Over three summers, the girls share and keep secrets, fall in and out of love, try to figure out their parents and other members of the tribe of adults, take note of the weird ways of friends and neighbors, worry about and wonder who they are. Karen Van Dyck’s translation captures all the light and warmth of this modern Greek classic.
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Three Summers is the story of three sisters growing up in the countryside near Athens before the Second World War. Livin..."
Thank you, Silver!
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Old Books, New Readers
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Cesare Pavese (other topics)
The time is now to start choosing our next BOTM. Since we have entered the summer solstice here in my region, I thought it would be fitting to choose a novel that uses heat like a character itself.
For example, in the novel, The Heart is the Lonely Hunter, author, Carson McCullers, uses the oppressive heat of the environment to mirror the psychological oppression experienced by the characters within the novel. This personification of heat also occurs in the play, A Streetcar Named Desire, symbolizing the tension between its two central characters. Let's put our heads together and think of six more examples.
Again, for those not familiar with the criteria, these selections should be over 50 years old, have literary merit, and most importantly, have relevance to the theme. Please list your suggestions on the thread below. Once we have six, I will make a poll. Since we only have one week left in May to nominate and vote, I urge everyone to move quickly.
I'm looking forward to another group read!
--Danny