Robin Agnew
There are many reasons I’m grateful for our book club. Since we began 16 years ago, it’s developed into a real community, and we’ve celebrated weddings, births, new jobs & retirements over the years. Last night was a birthday along with a lively discussion of Ruth Rendell’s classic, A Judgement in Stone. So along with Rendell’s creepy, blood soaked story, we enjoyed some red velvet cake. I felt a little funny unwrapping the large cake knife I’d brought along – not sure why, as the killer in the book uses a shotgun.
What then developed was one of those discussions – we don’t have them every time – that are nuanced and lively and really get into the meaning of the story. In case you aren’t familiar with this book, it’s the story of a housekeeper who kills the family she works for because she’s illiterate. In the hands of Rendell it’s also a devastating character study as well as a look at class, the things advantaged and educated people take for granted, and the value, basically, of education. Everyone in the book has a blind spot of one kind or another, making them not just unable or unwilling to understand but completely blind to the behaviors of their fellow human beings. The end result is a tragic one.
In any case, to my delight, the club really liked the book and the one thing one of the members disliked was Rendell’s complete lack of sentimentality. But since she was in disagreement with the rest of us, as we talked, we all tried to take in the point of view of the other readers. As the birthday girl pointed out, it’s a book that improves and becomes clearer by discussing it. I never felt that way in college English classes but in my book club I do, I think because of the complete lack of boundaries. There’s no academic respect; either we like the book or nor, we usually have no preconceptions. It’s very refreshing.
It’s nice during the winter months to have a reading community; it’s nice when it’s slow to see customers who have been coming to the store and helping to keep the doors open practically since we opened. The birthday girl in question – Happy Birthday, Aline! – and I actually have very similar taste and in 16 years have discovered many common reading passions. There’s nothing nicer, really.
We ended the night on a note of respect for both Ruth Rendell and P.D. James, who into their 80’s, are still following their own passions, luckily for the rest of us. If you’re not in a book club, you should join one. I started my day in deepest gloom and ended it feeling happy and surrounded by good friends – and good readers.
