Anyways so with this first book blog I am a whole month late but the book took me a little longer to get than I thought and a little longer to get into than I would of liked to but once I did I couldn't put it down!
So here is my over all review of the book:
I need to start by saying that I LOVED this book! I liked how it followed a group of women through their struggles, their accomplishments, and just everyday life. Every woman had something different going on in their life, each had a different story but at the same time they were all apart of each other’s stories. This book made me laugh, cry, and even made me a little mad at some points. I am looking forward to finding other books by this author and reading them this summer. I would recommend this book for any woman who things life is just not fair sometimes because these women all had something unfair happen to them at one point or another in their life yet it made them all stronger.
Ok so from here on out everything in black is from the email I got about book club and all my answers are in blue!
Listed below are the questions for this month! Feel free to answer all the questions, or any 7 of them!
Here are the questions:
1. During the sixties and seventies, the Angry Housewives smoked cigarettes and threw back highballs-even while pregnant-without knowledge of the harm it could do. If they could have glimpsed their futures then, what do you think would have surprised them most about their future selves? What is one thing you know now that you would have really appreciated being aware of ten years ago?
I think if they could of had glimpsed into their futures I think they would be surprised at how happy they are, how good of friends they have become, and how their lives turned out. They all changed so much throughout the book, yet at the same time stayed true to themselves even if it meant change in their lives. I also think they would all be surprised that they no longer smoke.
Let's see there are a lot of things I would of wished I knew ten year's ago. For starters that my mother really does know what's best and that it is best to do what she says. That running is really good for you and the only way to keep your small little body that you took for granted in high school. That suntan lotion is a great thing. That saving money is always better than a new pair of shoes (this one I still don't like but try to do). I think the biggest one would be that you should always spend time with those you love because they will not be around forever.
2. Why do you think groups like AHEB-women who live near each other, raise children together, and bond over books together-persist even in a climate of working moms and in a culture that is flooded with other types of media?
3. Audrey has a talent for sensing upcoming events. In what ways do her capabilities influence how she deals with her family? Does it differ from how they affect her friendships? How much do you believe in psychic phenomena? Would being endowed with such a gift help or hinder one's decisions?
4. How do you feel about the later inclusion of Grant as a member of AHEB? Did you think the inclusion of a male affected their particular group dynamic? What is valuable about inviting men to participate in women's dialogue?
I was very happy to hear that they were going to be adding Grant to the AHEB. He fit in with the group so well, he was loving, caring, and even better yet had also gone though some very hard times in his life. He lost someone he cared about, something that I think just about every one there had also dealt with. He at one point had a secret, he had been hurt, he was scared of something, and he had a lot of love to give just life everyone else in the group. I really wish I could say that Grant brought a man’s point of view to the group but I don’t think he did. I think he was a great addition because he had so much in common with all the other’s. I think that it is sometimes good to add men to women’s events to get them involved in what women think, believe, and want to fight for. If we never invite them in then they can never see what we see.
5. Merit eventually finds Paradise, literally and figuratively. Do you believe that good things come to people who wait?
Merit had gone through a lot, and I was starting to think she would never find anyone to love her the way she deserved to be loved. She put up with so much in her marriage to Eric, went out of her way to give to her girls, and was just full of love that she deserved Paradise more than anyone in the group. I don't think Mr. Paradise would of seemed so amazing had it not been for some of the things Merit had been though. Sometimes great things don't always seem so great until you have been though the bad.
6. How are midwestern values portrayed in this book? In what ways might the book have differed if it had been set in the northeast or the south?
7. Did you like the format of the book? How did giving every character the opportunity to voice their thoughts support the all-for-one and one-for-all theme of the book and the club itself?
In the past I have found it hard to keep up with who is who when books are done in this sort of format, and it was a big concern of mine when I started this book. It may even be why I put off starting the book and why it took me so long to get in to the book. Once I finally started to pick up on who was who and what they all had going on in their life’s the book took off for me and I couldn't wait to read it. I loved being able to see what each character thought of themselves and each other. It let you see everyone’s secretes from their own point of view, how big they all thought those secrets were, and how big everyone else saw their friends secrets if they even saw them at all. I think that each group showing just how much the AHEB group ment to them, why they each love it, and how it helped each of them at different points of their life helped support the all-for-one and one-for-all theme of the book.
8. In order to attain a greater understanding of herself, Faith utilizes therapy, learns from her friendships and culls inspiration from books. How do these three supplement each other as means of self discovery? Which books and authors have inspired you most through the years?
9. What did you think of Merit's idea to unite mothers around the world to stop war and halt violence? Were you surprised this notion came from her?
I was surprised the united mothers around the world idea came from Merit, I saw it more of a Slip idea. I like the idea because all mothers want to protect their children, all mothers want them to be safe, feel loved, and have the best things life has to offer. With that being said you think it would be easy to unite mothers and halt wars; but sadly (and I mean very sadly) it isn't.
10. Slip tells Merit that re-dubbing their book club Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons would be taking their husbands' words and "giving them and their chauvinism the finger." What other subversive techniques do the women display for giving chauvinism the finger? Do you feel it's an apt name for the club and all it turns out to be?
11. How does AHEB compare to our book club? Are there any ideas in the novel, like themes for meetings, which you'd like to incorporate?
12. Which character was your favorite? Was she or he the one you identified most with?
This one was a hard one for me because first I thought that Slip was going to be my favorite, small but so full of life, adventure, and fight. Then I thought that no maybe Audrey will be my favorite she is pretty and seems to have it all, but then I kind of thought that maybe I shouldn't like her because she does seem to have it all. Then I liked Merit because she was a good wife, then I tried to life Faith but she was just kind of plain, but then I think I finally decided to like Kari because she really was just full of love. Some of the things Kari does in the book surprise me. She loves all her nieces and nephews so much, hand making them cloths (something I really wish I could do), and even going so far as to take one of their children and loving it like her own. She was all around just a great person.
I think I had such a hard time picking who to like because I identify with each of them in one way or another. But if I had to pick just one I would pick a Slip-Kari mix......
13. A number of the characters in the book harbor secrets. What does secret-keeping do to characters like Faith and Fred, who fear their actual secrets as opposed to Kari or Beau who fear the reactions of others?
At what point who in this book didn’t have something to hide? They all had secrets some big some small they all had something they didn’t want everyone to know. I think everyone has secrets and what people do with those is their own choice unless it is harming someone else or yourself. Faith and Fred were both people who were haunted by their secretes and dark things in their past. These secretes slowly started to affect their personalities and how they treated those close to them. Faith and Fred both feared what their secretes would do to them more so than what they would do to others. Kari and Beau I think both feared what their secrets would do to those they loved. They were worried about how others would take it, they were worried that maybe someone would stop loving them, or that they would look at them differently.
Ok time to curl up for the night with the book from last month One Fifth Avenue, maybe I can catch up this month!
Hope everyone is having a great week so far! My Monday was long and I feel like I am so far behind already!
No comments:
Post a Comment