Book Discussion Thurs Sept 5 at Montrose Library - THE TRIAL by Kafka

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Alice Aman

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Aug 30, 2013, 11:35:00 AM8/30/13
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Hi everyone  -

  Next week on Thurs at 6pm-8pm at the Houston Freed-Montrose Library in the downstairs conference room, we will discuss THE TRIAL by Kafka.  Marcella will be leading the discussion.  Afterwards, those who are interested in socializing are welcome to join us at 8pm at THE BLACK LAB Restaurant located next to the library in the same building complex.

  For those who have not got their copy yet, there is a relatively new translation by Breon Mitchell that has gotten good reviews.  Though this translation is not a requirement especially since our discussions are often enhanced by the sharing of differences between translations. 

  Also, for those not aware, Orson Welles has written the screenplay and directed a film based on THE TRIAL (1962) starring Anthony Perkins that has gotten some very good reviews.  Though if you are looking for something uplifting, I would not recommend, it has won awards and been described by one reviewer as "a superb job of capturing an uneasy, nightmarish feeling."  The film is available for streaming on Netflix.  (Of course, it's in "black and white" :)

  Hope to see you next Thursday.

 --Alice


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Upcoming Discussions

Sep 5 - Marcella 
THE TRIAL by Franz Kafka (publ 1925) 300 pages
  The terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, Kafka's nightmare has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.
  --Marcella leading discussion

October 3 - Alice
Two short stories by Graham Greene
1.) THE DESTRUCTORS [publ 1954] 10 pages
Despite its setting in post-World War II England, the story is universal in its reflection of human nature...includes many hallmarks of the author, most importantly that of placing people who have the capacity for good and evil in situations where they must make a choice between the two.
2.)THE BASEMENT ROOM [pub 1936] 15 pages
Story is told by a third person narrator about a seven-year-old boy Philip's traumatic experience in his childhood which influences the rest of his life till his dying hour at the age of sixty-seven. 
--Alice Leading Discussion

November 7 - Ruthie
GERMINAL by Emile Zola (publ 1885) 525 pages
Often considered Zola's masterpiece and one of the most significant novels in the French tradition, the novel – an uncompromisingly harsh and realistic story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s – has been published and translated in over one hundred countries as well as inspiring five film adaptations and two television productions.
--Ruthie Leading Discussion 

December 5 - Alice
BABYLON REVISITED (short story) by F Scott Fitzgerald (publ 1931) 11 to 20 pages (depending on version)
According to THE TELEGRAPH, one of the finest short stories in the English language. Written after the Great Crash, it is an intensely personal portrait of a man who has squandered his life. A tale of boom and bust, about the debts one has to pay when the party comes to an end.
--Alice Leading Discussion

January 2nd - will not meet because of holiday week

February 6- Marcella
MIDDLEMARCH by George Elliot [pub 1874] 832 pages<br>
set in the fictitious Midlands town of Middlemarch during the period 1830 through 1832. It has multiple plots with a large cast of characters, and in addition to its distinct though interlocking narratives it pursues a number of underlying themes, including the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest, religion and hypocrisy, political reform, and education. <br>
[VERY LONG BOOK CATEGORY - Please take advantage of shorter reading during previous months and begin this book well in advance]
--Marcella Leading Discussion

March 6- Will
THE STREET OF CROCODILES by Bruno Schulz (publ 1934) 160 pages
The novel is split into thirteen chapters or stories, each of which focuses on a different part of the Polish city of Drogobych, or on an aspect of the authors childhood home life.  Through a child's eyes, events, sensations, ideas and thoughts are conveyed with brilliant, dazzling imagery.  Vivid, almost too-bright pictures are painted with words in a way that is both surreal, magical and ordinary.
--Will Leading Discussion

April 3 - Claudia
A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN by Robert Olin Butler (publ 2001) 288 pages
1993 Pulitzer Prize Winner
With fifteen short stories, this book takes you into the ordeals about being a Vietnamese transplant to the US, specifically to New Orleans,
The voices are young, old, and have a diverse background. The mix brings alive and humanizes this often misunderstood period of our nation's history.
--Claudia Leading Discussion

May 1- Alice
THE SWIMMER (short story) by Cheever (publ 1964) 12 pages
The story is highly praised for its blend of realism and surrealism, the thematic exploration of suburban America, especially the relationship between wealth and happiness, as well as his use of myth and symbolism.
--Alice Leading Discussion

June 5- Ruthie
LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner (publ 1932) 480 pages
In a loose, unstructured modernist narrative style that draws from Christian allegory and oral storytelling, Faulkner explores themes of race, sex, class and religion in the American South. By focusing on characters that are misfits and outcasts, he portrays the clash of alienated individuals against a Puritanical, prejudiced rural society
--Ruthie Leading Discussion

July 3 - Will
HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow (publ 1959) 352 pages
A hilarious, often ribald story, it is also a profound look at the forces that drive a man through life.  A grumpy, spoiled, acerbic, rich American in his 50's seeks to discover meaning and wisdom and fulfillment by leaving New York and traveling to Africa to live and commune with a primitive African tribe.
--Will Leading Discussion
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