Author Topic: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ Nov. Book Club Online ~ Prediscussion  (Read 13238 times)

JoanP

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #40 on: October 26, 2013, 12:42:01 PM »
The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  Everyone is welcome.

November Book Club Online
 
Beginning on Nov. 1

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

In Remarkable Creatures, Tracy Chevalier brings to our attention, two historical figures, telling their tale in two distinct voices. Mary Anning is the young one, the uneducated girl with the uncanny gift of finding fossils, (the origin of the tongue-twister "She Sells Sea Shells on the Sea Shore.")

 It is the older woman whose voice dominates the novel, another historical character, a middle-class spinster sent away by a married brother to live more cheaply in England's coastal village of Lyme Regis.  To Jane Austen's readers, she will sound familiar.

 Both women played a key role in understanding the earth with their discoveries, though not without controversy, at a time when there was no place for women in science. This  is  the story of their friendship which allowed them to stand together and prevail as they challenged the thinking of the day.
DISCUSSION SCHEDULE:  
        November 1-8    Chapters 1-3
Related Links:
Video ~ Tracy Chevalier on Writing Remarkable Creatures ;




This is great!  So glad to hear that you both have the book in hand...ready to "forge" on  :D  You need to get that oven door fixed, Steph - Thanksgiving is coming...

Deb, this is the first fall we didn't come down to N. Fort Meyers for the annual softball tournament there.  We used to stay right on the river - I'll try to spell it - Caloosahatchee?  Is that right?

There seems to be something for every interest in Tracy Chevalier's book - women's struggle  for recognition of their work in what had been considered a man's field.  Had you ever heard of Mary Anning?  And then there's the connection between Jane Austen's Persuasion heroines and Elizabeth Philpot and her sisters who settle in Lyme Regis. Even is you are not acquainted with Mary Anning and Anne Elliot, there is much to like in Chevalier's book.

Welcome!  Looking forward to hearing from you both next week.

BarbStAubrey

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #41 on: October 26, 2013, 03:38:39 PM »
OH this is going to be a good discussion - Steph it is amazing isn't it when they finally get to work how our life can be less stressed - good luck with the oven door.

Booked you will be fine - no stress as we share - we are only sharing our curiosity and what we see and feel as we read - the story will have us all over the place between the fact it took place in another century with all those social differences and the exposure that for some of us will be new to ancient fossils never mind how the characters react to each other - so just pop in with any of your thoughts - it is amazing how we each aid with our reactions what others over look - so have fun with this and we will look forward to your posts. So glad, really, so happy you will be joining us.  
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JoanK

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #42 on: October 26, 2013, 04:06:11 PM »
Hey, Deb, glad to have you.

marcie

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #43 on: October 26, 2013, 06:57:02 PM »
Deb, that's wonderful that you'll be joining the discussion. The title of the book is interesting.... doesn't specify what "creatures."

ANNIE

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #44 on: October 26, 2013, 08:38:27 PM »
I had lunch with Ella today and she is going to look for this book also.  She hopes to join us.

Welcome Deb and Steph!  This should be an interesting discussion about the past and its strange history.  Can't wait to get started.  See you all on Nov. 1st.
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth." Robert Southey

Steph

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #45 on: October 27, 2013, 11:33:54 AM »
Deb,, hi fellow floridian. I live in Clermont, so further north, but still we are in the same state.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

bellamarie

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #46 on: October 28, 2013, 12:19:29 PM »
Thank you Annie, for the links you posted, to help me understand Historical fiction.  I guess I learned something new today, to file away for future use.

by Charlie ....
Quote
This is an excellent question. I went to the historical novel society for an answer. This is how they determine 'historical'

"To be deemed historical a novel must have been written at least fifty years after the events described, or have been written by someone who was not alive at the time of those events (who therefore approaches them only by research).

That seems to be the line most literary persons are drawing between contemporary and historical.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/465433-what-is-historical-fiction

I am going to begin reading chapters 1 - 3 today, so I will be ready on Nov 1.  I have never heard of TC, before this discussion, so did a little research to familiarize me with her.  I always love to know a little bit about the author, when reading their book.  She seems like a very simple woman, who loves to research for her novels, and get her hands dirty while doing it, LITERALLY! My kind of person.

Ciao for now~
“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?...Was ever anything so civil?”
__Anthony Trollope, The Warden

Steph

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #47 on: October 29, 2013, 08:50:02 AM »
I too have started the book and am enjoying it a lot. But then, I read for pleasure, so sometimes in the discussion groups, I tend to get impatient with research..
Stephanie and assorted corgi

JoanP

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #48 on: October 29, 2013, 12:31:50 PM »
That's okay, Steph.  Just stay with the story - skip the research! ;)

Have you read Chevalier's "Girl with a Pearl Earring,"?


bellamarie

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #49 on: October 29, 2013, 03:25:38 PM »
JoanP., I have not read Girl with a Pearl Earring, but while researching TC, I found this:

Quote
Chevalier brings the real artist Vermeer, and a fictional muse to life in a jewel of a novel.  17th Century Holland, a coming of age story, and a lyrical essay on how to look at a painting.  Vermeer's portrait, called the 'Dutch Mona Lisa'.
I read how TC sees a story in this painting.  Sounds interesting.  I almost picked it up at the library, when I got Remarkable Creatures.  It's becoming a habit for me to read more than one book at a time.  lolol

Steph, don't worry about research.  We get plenty of info from members who share, along the way.  I am too curious for my own good.  :o

Ciao for now~
“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?...Was ever anything so civil?”
__Anthony Trollope, The Warden

JoanK

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #50 on: October 29, 2013, 03:32:10 PM »
I was excited when "pearl earring" came out, and hurried to read it. I was disappointed, feeling in the end there wasn't much point to it. But I really like "remarkable creatures." Maybe because it tells an historical story that I didn't know.

salan

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #51 on: October 29, 2013, 06:32:48 PM »
I have also started Creatures.
Sally

bookad

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #52 on: October 30, 2013, 08:24:07 AM »
hello there

been reading the book was a bit worried as didn't really enjoy author's book ?girl with the pearl earring....think some seaside sounds and smells would be nice asset to reading the book, imagine the hours she put in looking for fossils....the author in one interview said she was taking her 7 year old grandchild to the museum and in the area of fossil display saw the name Mary A. and was intrigued by a woman's name and hence the book we are reading...the same interview says she is writing this present time a book about the underground railway (takes her about 2 years to get a book written)....for the 'creatures' book she said she spent time out looking for fossils, but wrapped in her gortex etc, not musty woolens as the dress of the book's time

Steph:  sorry to disappoint you but really am one of those 'snowbirds' though I hate that term, in Texas we were called 'winter texans'....but am coming to love your state am reading 'Spanish Pathways in Florida' by Ann L. Henderson and Gary R. Mormino, (editors) and it really makes one aware of how much earlier this area was colonized.....and love it here, 10 minute ride to downtown Fort Myers and near the country as well (best of both worlds)

JoanP: my spelling is as yours but love the fact that many names reflect history other than just English, in my home province of Ontario so many names reflect Lord Simcoe (governor late 1700s-early 1800s) pickings and his imagination seemed to extend as far as family and friends, even named one set of townships after a friend's dogs,  Tiny, Tay and Flo

looking forward to the first when we start the book

bookad
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wildflower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

JoanP

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #53 on: October 30, 2013, 08:42:22 AM »
  Hadn't thought of the  sounds and smells as the beachcombers did their combing.  Will try to keep them in mind while reading.

For those who read Girl with Pearl - let's compare to find what Ms. Chevalier did differently with Vermeer and Mary Anning's character - as we get into the story...

Can't wait to get started too, Deb! Won't be long now!

Steph

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #54 on: October 30, 2013, 09:10:09 AM »
I liked Pearl Earring.. and love this one.. She writes with such a flow.. Anyway, be careful about the smells of the ocean.. I grew up on one and have lived on several oceans, rivers,lakes over the years. There are places in the world where when the tide changes, life becomes quite smelly. Anyone go to
Charleston on the south side,, They call it plum duff, but it is smelly mud, no matter what.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

bellamarie

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #55 on: October 30, 2013, 10:59:26 AM »
Okay, so I boarded my plane from Bath (Persuasion) leaving Captain Wentworth and Anne happily together, and am now landing in Lyme Regis (Remarkable Creatures), with Mary Anning and Elizabeth.  Why do I feel like Captain Wentworth, Anne, Louisa, Mr. Elliot, Mary, Charles and the rest of the Persuasion group are walking along the cliffs of Cobb?  It's actually a nice feel, leaving one book, that introduced me to an area, where the new book is taking place.  Just have to make sure I don't get the characters mixed up.  lol   ::)

Steph, I know what you mean about the smells of the ocean.  I have visited a few places, where I thought I would wake up and eat my breakfast on the terrace, only to find the smell was too offensive to appreciate the beautiful colorful sail boats drifting by, and the seagulls on the sandy beach.

Ciao for now~

  
“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?...Was ever anything so civil?”
__Anthony Trollope, The Warden

JoanK

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #56 on: October 30, 2013, 04:47:14 PM »
I'm reading "creatures" too, and the walking on the beach searching for treasures is taking me right back to my childhood. Didn't you all love to do that?

JoanP

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #57 on: October 30, 2013, 05:16:43 PM »
Maybe you have to be walking at low tide to mind the smells.  I've always loved the salty sea breezes - and smells. :D  
Yes, JoanK, I still pick up those shells and treasure them during vacation days at the shore.  But then, when it's time to go home, I have to be selective - and carry most of them back to the beach - for someone else to pick up!  I ususally take a few home - to decorate the garden, my mantle, the back porch...

bookad

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #58 on: October 31, 2013, 07:47:26 AM »
well fortunately for these ladies they do not need to monitor their radio as to the pollution index or if the water is suitable for swimming in] that particular day
-they don't have to worry about large tankers going down and the ocean drift sending oily water and birds and sea animals covered with oil to their beaches....
-I imagine they may have had 'red tides' hopefully not to the magnitude of today's .....3 years ago experienced a red tide off boca chica beach (the Rio river runs thru this beach and the beach continues down thru Mexico..... 20 miles approx from Brownsville, Texas)....well really didn't give too much thought to what exactly a red tide was till we reached the beach and (3 of us in the truck, windows down) I started choking, just thinking I may have swallowed the wrong way till my companions started coughing, all our eyes were watering, and we rolled up the windows immediately...even that wasn't enough to stop the stench....2 car washings and our friend's truck still smelt of the decay on the beach the following day

no....I am imagining a day with light winds, and aromas of sand, water, tropical trees (a friend in England pointed out to me they have palm trees on some southern coastal areas, not sure if this area talked about is one of those though)--the sea gulls calling, waves lapping, rustling of the palms, my favourite time before the sun is high to walk the beach, or when the day calms down in the evening {wonder what no traffic noise sounds like!!!!}

bookad
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wildflower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

Steph

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Re: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier ~ November Book Club Online
« Reply #59 on: October 31, 2013, 08:48:12 AM »
I spent the last three months of my first pregnancy living in Myrtle Beach directly on the ocean. I walked each day at tidal change since at that point, you could wade into the shallows and catch welks and concks.. before they crashed and broke.. A lovely memory for me.
Stephanie and assorted corgi

JoanK

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"wonder what no traffic noise sounds like!!!!"

Sigh.

BarbStAubrey

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Oh my the things we take for granted - off and on during the day there is light traffic on my street except for about a half hour before school starts and again for about an hour starting just before school is over for the day at both the elementary and the middle school that have the same start time but finish up a half hour apart - and then in the evening from just after 5: till about 8: and in summer till about 9:00. After it is dead silent except for those walking or bike riding in the street unless, a strong breeze from the east which is so seldom you can almost count the number of times during a year and then there is this low sound that is hard to distinguish but you know it is traffic from a highway that is about 7 blocks away down hill all the way.
“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” ~ Goethe

JoanP

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