Book Discussion: Thurs March 5th 6 pm at Freed-Montrose Library WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS by J.M. Coetzee

[A Aman]

Hi everyone --

Next Thursday, March 5th at 6 pm is our discussion of WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS by J.M. Coetzee at Freed-Montrose Library.  I'm not sure yet whether we will be meeting upstairs or downstairs. If you don't see a note on the front door of the library, check the conference room downstairs first. I usually come a bit early so if you don't see me downstairs, then it's upstairs.

I was pleasantly surprised to see more than 10 tickets for ROCK 'N ROLL for May 3rd being purchased at our last meeting. There will be 14 attending (not counting those who will be buying their tickets on their own) and because of the Alley's group rate for quantities of tickets greater than 10,  I will be giving everyone who purchased through me a $5.50 per ticket refund.

Looking forward to the discussion next Thursday!

  --Alice

  http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/Montrose
  http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/blog/
  http://groups.google.com/group/MontroseGreatBooks
  http://www.houstongreatbooks.net/groups/Montrose.html
  http://www.houstonbookclubs.org/GreatBooksGuide.htm

UPCOMING READING SELECTIONS
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-- Mar 5, 2009  WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS by J.M. Coetzee (publ 1980) 156 pages
Author is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
Story is set in a small frontier town of a nameless empire. The Nobel Prize committee called this book "a political thriller in the tradition of Joseph Conrad, in which the idealist's naivete opens the gates to horror". "Early in the novel, it's apparent who the barbarians really are, that's no surprise. What is a surprise, however, is the compassion Coetzee shows his victims and villains alike." Possible discussion questions at http://www.geocities.com/aauw_vancouver/groupdetail/barbarians.html
 -- Alice will lead discussion.

-- Apr 2, 2009  ROCK 'N' ROLL by Tom Stoppard (premier 2006)  144 pages
List of awards for Sir Stoppard at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Stoppard#Honours_and_awards
ROCK 'N' ROLL is a play concerned with the significance of rock and roll in the emergence of the democratic movement in Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia. Takes place over several decades.
 FYI - A group theatre event by Montrose Great Books members is planned for the May 3rd afternoon local performance at the Alley Theatre.  Feel free to purchase your tickets anytime if you have not signed up with Alice for a ticket but let Alice know if you want to be included in the dinner reservation planned for after the performance.
 -- Leader of discussion is TBD

-- May 3, 2009  ROCK 'N ROLL  - Alley Theatre 2:30 pm -- For those interested in watching a live performance with our group and who have either purchased a ticket through Alice earlier at our April meeting or who have chosen to purchase their own tickets.  Dinner is planned at a local restaurant after the performance.

-- May 7, 2009 CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole (publ 1980) 352 pages
Pulitzer Prize winner in 1981
Setting is New Orleans in the early 1960s. The central character is an intelligent but slothful man still living with his mother at age 30 in the city's Uptown neighborhood, who, because of family circumstances, must set out to get a job. In his quest for employment he has various adventures with colorful French Quarter characters. Many locals and writers of New Orleans think that it is the best and most accurate depiction of the city in a work of fiction.
-- Claudia will lead discussion

-- June 4, 2009  TOO LOUD A SOLITUDE  by Bohumil Hrabal (self published in 1977) 112 pages
Considered one of the greatest Czech writers of the 20th century, the man whom Kundera considers to be  one of his masters.
Tells the story of an eclectic and dimwitted old man who works as a paper crusher at a hydraulic press in a dark cellar in Prague. Using his job to save and amass astounding numbers of rare and banned books, he is an obsessive collector of knowledge. The books that he must destroy become his whole life, his only companions.
--Jo will lead discussion
Note: At end of discussion in June, group will vote on new titles for upcoming reading list..

-- July 2, 2009  SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by Ray Bradbury (publ 1972) 317 pages
About two thirteen-year-old boys who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who bears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out his secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. Novel places emphasis on the more serious side of the transition from childhood to adulthood.
-- Cassie will lead discussion

-- August 6, 2009 MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis (publ 1920) 448 pages
First American to win Nobel Prize in 1930.
Captures the aura of small town America which requires conformity to tradition and social standards in exchange for recognition, respect and love from one's neighbors, versus the City as depicted by Washington which seems to offer freedom and individuality precisely because there's no one there who cares about you or what you do.
--Susan will lead discussion