Evening
Book Club
August
2016
The
Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
Three Halifax adult book clubs, Evening, Afternoon
and Mystery Readers joined together to enjoy a pot luck supper and book
discussion. The meal was served buffet style featuring a variety of appetizers,
salads and side dishes; fried rice, pineapple chow mein, edamame with fresh
cilantro, three bean, cole slaw and garden salad, along with a fruit plate and
cheese and meat selections. Spinach quiche was a treat along with marinated
chicken, baked ham, baked beans and brown bread. The traditional Holmes Library
Pink Potluck Punch and assorted flavors of spritzers complemented the menu.
After the main course all readers adjourned to the Library’s reading room for a
book discussion accompanied by a picturesque decorated cake and other chocolate
treats.
Readers were conflicted about the book. Some said it
was a straight forward story about a young woman and her schemes for survival.
Others said it was about justifying the moral decisions people make in
desperate situations. Readers had their own ideas about the characters and no
one convinced others to change their minds about the motivations and actions of
Grace before and after the shipwreck. There was some discussion of how the
survivors were able to tolerate the terrible suffering in the lifeboat. Some
readers did not want to spend much time talking about it and were eager to get
to the rescue. They were disappointed that the author did not spend much time
on the rescue and questions were raised about survivors in the other lifeboats.
Although other characters were prominently featured the discussion focused on
Grace and her sister and her husband’s family. It was decided that this was the
author’s intention and she succeeded in the direction of her story.
Readers decided that despite accolades and awards The Lifeboat had too many loose ends and
unanswered questions to qualify as a good read for them. They commented that
they never connected with any of the characters and although the deaths were
sad they didn’t care very much about the people. They needed more details and time
to engage with their lives.
The discussion concluded with the members of the
book clubs drawing straws to determine who would pick September’s book
selection. After two rounds Library Director Jean was left with the short
straw. The group unanimously changed her name to Director Hardie.
“Am I to be
blamed for this? We do not ask certain ideas to enter our heads and demand that
others stay away. I believe that a person is accountable for his actions but
not for the contents of his mind, so perhaps I am culpable for occasionally
letting those thoughts turn themselves into words.” Charlotte Rogan, The Lifeboat.
Have you read The Lifeboat? What did you think? Please share your thoughts
in comments.
