Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler ~ May Book Club Online - Pre-Discussion

[JoanP]

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 to join in.

 

Noah's Compass ~  May Book Club Online
You are invited to join us on May 1.

Anne Tyler's Noah's Compass was SeniorLearn's first  choice for  our May Book Club Online discussion.  We do hope you will join us in what should be a meaningful, worthwhile experience.  Tyler's protagonist, Liam Pennywell, tells his young grandson that Noah wasn't going anywhere in the Ark.  "He was just trying to stay afloat. He was just bobbing up and down, so he didn't need a compass, or a rudder, or a sextant."  Liam Pennywell  is troubled by his inability to remember anything about the first night that he moved into his new, spare condominium,  after being laid off at 61 from a job he never liked. All he knows when he wakes up the next day in the hospital is that his head is sore and bandaged.  For Liam, the most distressing part of his memory loss was that it felt like he was losing control. And yet this novel is described as "gently humorous."  Really. We all know a Liam, the novel suggests.   In fact, there may be a little of Liam in each of us. Just trying to stay afloat.  Please plan to join us as we float along together.

  

Discussion Leaders:  JoanP & Pedln

[JoanP]

Traudee, I think it would be safe to say that retirement is an "acclimatization to a new and different culture," don't you?  

Are you familiar with Baltimore, the inner harbor, North Charles Street?  The  Beltway?   AT fans have made Baltimore THE PLACE to visit...I read this interview written back in 2003 so it won't give away anything of her new novel...

What has this all got to do with Baltimore?
Well, Baltimore, Maryland, is where Anne Tyler lives and where 11 of her novels are set. It's a city of 2.5 million souls (650,000 within city limits) 40 miles north-east of Washington DC.

You mean if I go to Baltimore, I'll find Anne Tyler characters in the flesh?

In the opinion of some, Baltimore is a living Anne Tyler novel: full of peculiar citizens and strange, inbred traditions. The city is an amalgam of north and south, owing partly to Maryland's historic role as a slave-owning state that stayed in the Union. Anne Tyler herself is a hybrid of north and south. Born in Minneapolis in 1941, she grew up in North Carolina. As a writer, her sense of place, character and language are southern, but she observes from the point of view of an outsider.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/americas/in-search-of--anne-tyler-in-baltimore-602287.html

[CallieOK]

What an interesting web site, Joan.  Thank you for sharing it.

[salan]

I immediately put my name on the reserve list when I returned the book.  Currently, I am #3; so maybe I will get it back before our discussion ends.  I am anxious for out discussion to begin and hear what all of you have to say about this book.  I took notes, but am sure that I missed some of the subleties.
Sally

[CallieOK]

I rechecked the book so will have it for another two weeks, at least. 

Sally, I usually miss the finer points unless someone points them out.  That's why I enjoy these discussions - and also why I lurk more than I comment.

'Til tomorrow...

[JoanP]

May Day! Time to close this Pre-discussion  and meet you all in DAY ONE of the discussion of Anne Tyler's Noah's Compass!