Bibliofemme Bookclub An Irish Bookclub

January 10, 2012

Atomised by Michel Houellebecq

Filed under: Bookclub Books,Cult — The Writer @ 3:07 pm
atomised
Title: Atomised Author: Michel Houellebecq Genre: Cult Publisher: Random House Release Date: 2001 Pages: 379

Half-brothers Michel and Bruno have a mother in common but little else. Michel is a molecular biologist, a thinker and idealist, a man with no erotic life to speak of and little in the way of human society. Bruno, by contrast, is a libertine, though more in theory than in practice, his endless lust is all too rarely reciprocated. Both are in their

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Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

Filed under: Bookclub Books,General Fiction — The Writer @ 3:07 pm
grownups
Title: Back when We Were Grownups Author: Anne Tyler Genre: General Fiction Publisher: Vintage Books Release Date: 2002 Pages: 273 Meeting: Thursday 22nd May 2003

This book sold itself to me on the first line: “Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong personÂ…” Who hasn’t felt like that at times in their life? The central character Rebecca is 53 and wakes up one day to wonder if her choice of man all those years ago brought her to a life and a personality

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Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Filed under: Bookclub Books,Literature — The Connoisseur @ 3:07 pm
belcanto
Title: Bel Canto Author: Ann Patchett Genre: Literature Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Release Date: 2002 Pages: 318 Meeting: Sunday 27th April 2003

A spellbinding novel set in the sumptuous home of a humble vice-president of an un-named Latin American country.

The action begins, and just as quickly dissipates, when kidnappers burst into a party given in honour of a visiting Japanese businessman and would-be investor.

Amidst the andante that follows we watch the unlikely relationships that develop

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The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy

Filed under: Bookclub Books,Thriller — Femmes @ 3:07 pm
blackdahlia
Title: The Black Dahlia Author: James Ellroy Genre: Thriller Publisher: Random House Release Date: 2011-01-01 Pages: 383 Meeting: Friday 8th March 2002

Using the basic facts concerning the 1940s’ notorious and yet unsolved Black Dahlia case, Ellroy creates a kaleidoscope of human passion and dark obsession. A young woman’s mutilated body is found in a Los Angeles vacant lot.

The story is seen through the eyes of Bucky Bleichert, ex-prize fighter and something of a boy wonder on the police

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The Body Artist by Don DeLillo

Filed under: Bookclub Books,General Fiction — The Writer @ 3:07 pm
bodyartist
Title: The Body Artist Author: Don DeLillo Genre: General Fiction Publisher: Picador USA Release Date: 2011 Pages: 124 Meeting: Thursday 11th December 2003

There is a constant chill running through this short, complex narrative. It never lets up and it has led some to think of The Body Artist as a ghost story; I prefer to see it as an uncannily taut evocation of loss.

When the death of her husband leaves Lauren in a trance-like state she shuts herself away from the world. Thus begins a tentative relationship

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The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

Filed under: Bookclub Books,General Fiction — The Artist @ 12:55 pm
slendermeans
Title: The Girls of Slender Means Author: Muriel Spark Publisher: Penguin Pages: 144

Like the follow up to the girls of St Trinian’s or some other girls’ boarding school tale, the girls of the May of Teck Club live in a cosy world of dress-sharing, squeezing out windows and entertaining suitors.

The May of Teck Club is not a school society but a hostel existing for the “pecuniary convenience and social protection

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May 17, 2007

Running for the Hills: A Family Story by Horatio Clare

Filed under: Bookclub Books,General Fiction — Femmes @ 3:07 pm
pink27
Title: Running for the Hills: A Family Story Author: Horatio Clare Genre: General Fiction Publisher: John Murray; New Ed edition Meeting: 17th May 2007

Ok, ok. So I gave this book 5 out of 5, and was greeted with gasps of open-mouthed horror and amazement… Judging by the praise Horatio Clare’s childhood memoir has garnered in reviews since its publication, there are lots of people out there who agree with me – unfortunately, none of them are in this bookclub!

In my defence

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