The Secret Keeper

     

by Kate Morton

This month's selection was The Secret Keeper, another book set in England which recounts the tale of two women whose lives were intertwined. Later in life, the daughter of one of the women tries to piece together the story as her mother approaches death. What she discovers in the end is an unexpected twist in the story that none of us expected. We all enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. The book prompted discussions about our own mothers (and mother-in-laws) and we digressed so much that we hardly discussed the book! 

One of our book club members generously invited us to her house for dinner this month. We enjoyed a delicious meal and had a peek at her beautiful home. We also got to meet a new baby brought by another member, a beautiful boy that we took turns holding while he chewed on our fingers :)

Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman

     

by Elizabeth Buchan

This month we read Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman. Set in England, it is the story of a woman who quite suddenly loses both her job and her husband (both to the same woman). Most of us commented that we were expecting something a bit juicy to develop in the story (as the title suggests), but were a bit disappointed that the revenge occurred all by itself and was not out of the ordinary. However, it was a good story and we still enjoyed it.

We dined at Squatter's Pub in Salt Lake City for this month's meeting. With a medical convention in town it was very crowded and we had to wait over an hour for a table. But the food was delicious, as always.

A Fine Balance

     

by Rohinton Mistry

This month we read A Fine Balance, a historical fiction novel which takes place in India in the 1970's. During this time a state of emergency was in effect for about two years, as declared by Prime Minister Idira Gandhi. The emergency gave her ultimate power and it is interesting to see how her power effected the different characters in the story.

We all remarked at how lucky we are in this country to have running water 24 hours a day and clean, indoor restrooms. We also appreciate the rights that women have in this country, although we realized that has come a long way since the 1970's.

There are so many fine balances in life, but this book seemed to focus on the fine balance between hope and despair. When things get bad in life (as they did so many times in this story), as long as the characters had hope for the future, they could carry on, despite their despair. But when hope was lost for one character, the despair had nothing to balance it.

In the spirit of the book, our meeting spot was The Himalayan Kitchen in Salt Lake City. Their food was wonderful and the nan was amazing. Excellent service as well.

The Shoemaker's Wife

     

by Adriana Trigiani

This month's book is a touching story of a man and woman who grew up in the Italian alps and met in Italy coincidentally as teenagers, then found each other many years later in America. Their lives cross paths many times before they finally affirm their love for each other and marry. Their struggles in coming to America and building a life are not unlike so many others who fled to America in the early 1900s.

Our meeting spot was appropriately an Italian restaurant in Bountiful - Robintino's.

The Birth of Venus

     

by Sarah Dunant

This month's book was an interesting story about the life of a girl in 15th century Florence. With so many twists and turns we all found this book to be very unpredictable which added to its appeal. And we loved learning more about the history of Florence.

We met at Bistro on Main in Bountiful, formerly Sego Lily Cafe, a cozy little restaurant with a delicious selection. 

Queen Hereafter

     

by Susan Fraser King

Our book this month was Queen Hereafter, a wonderful account of Queen Margaret of Scotland. Margaret led an interesting life and her piety and charitable acts make it easy to see why she was deemed a saint after her death. The only disappointment for some of us was the ending, some thought it a fairly dull ending.

We met at Arella Pizzeria in Bountiful and enjoyed some delicious pizza. We ordered several pizzas to share and they were all delicious! The Arella (Italian) soda was delightful.

The Dante Club

     

by Matthew Pearl

Our book this month was The Dante Club, a great book for Dante lovers.

We met at Market Street Oyster Bar in downtown Salt Lake City