Family dynamics x2!

Our initial view of the two books, LaRose, by Louise Erdrich and Leavers, by Lisa Ko, was that, coincidentally, they had the similarities of being about complicated family dynamics and the idea of connecting and reconnecting.

LaRose: I, for one, was surprised that some people just don’t like the writing of Louise Erdrich, but being committed to expanding their literary breadth, they slogged through it any way. The commentary on the author was that she is a master of lists and her writing can be disjointed. Her writing is a crossover between Native American old folklore and modern day living in South Dakota, and describes “a rough landscape of hopelessness”. At the same time, her writing was described as being “off putting” and “not bringing the reader into the story”. We had an in depth discussion and recap of parts of the story and ended up rating it a 3.

The Leavers: We had a slight split as to our opinions on the quality of the writing, but agreed that The Leavers was a decent read. The story of families ripped apart -- Deportation, ICE, adoption, assimilation and loss of culture, cultural stigma and family dysfunction – is emblematic of present day immigration headlines. Some of the story plots seemed odd (Daniel’s gambling) while at the same time interesting psychological issues of parents and their children were explored (Daniel did a good job of being true to himself and to his adoption parents). We rated this book a 3.

Thanks, Nancy for hosting the meeting. Our small but mighty group had scintillating conversation and ate delicious food. Kathy has photos of the delicious pork and edamame stir fry and my attempt at Asian salad. We scarfed down the yummy potsticker appetizers and had great wine.

Our next books are: 1. Where the Crawdads sing. 2. Running Home

The next meeting is: May 25, 2019

The next host is: Kathy