Sloane Parker is a librarian; she is engaged to be married to a chiropractor. At work she meets Arthur McLachlan, an elderly curmudgeon who goes out of his way to be snarky and rude to people. He comes in to use the library every day and he and Sloane often argue about various topics related to books. So one day when he doesn't come in, she is concerned. She has come to enjoy their daily interchanges. When she finds out that he was in the hospital but is now home, and relying on home help people assigned to him, who keep quitting, she decides she has to help him out. Maisey, who lives next door, gives her support. And gradually others get pulled into Arthur's support group, and they end up starting a book club...
I had difficulty putting together a review for this book, even though I enjoyed it very much. So what follows are just some random thoughts.
I was attracted to this book because of the book club theme and positive reviews from other bloggers. I have recently discovered that I like "feel good" books; many of the books I have read and enjoyed in the last year could be described as sappy but I haven't found that to be a bad thing. The books have made me happy, and occasionally sad.
In addition to discussions of books and their merits or drawbacks, this book also had romance, dysfunctional families, and lonely people making friends.
The story is sentimental, and sometimes predictable, but there are no guaranteed happy endings at the end of the book.
The writing pulled me into the story. The story is told by multiple narrators. Each of their background stories is revealed very slowly. I liked that a lot. Stories told from various viewpoints appeal to me, but I will admit this one gets confusing at times. Nevertheless, I loved it.
These are the books that were discussed in more detail:
- The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (haven't read)
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (have read)
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (haven't read)
Amazingly, after all these years, reading this book really motivates me to find a copy of Anne of Green Gables and read it.
See these reviews at Lark Writes on books and life and at The New York Journal of Books.
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Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2023
Length: 353 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Setting: Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Genre: Books about Books, Contemporary Fiction
Source: Purchased in December 2023.
23 comments:
So strange that just this week, two friends went to the Maritime Provinces in Canada (with Road Scholars) and saw a production of ANNE and decided to read it too.
As the world has gotten scarier, books like these are a comfort. Have you read Michael Robotham at all? Not that his books are necessarily comforting but I find them very engrossing. Jeff Meyerson is another big fan.
Also REMAINS OF THE DAY is brilliant. One of my very favorite books. I have read it more than once, which is unusual for me,
Patti, I have not read anything by Michael Robotham. I have the first book in the Joseph O'Loughlin series but it has been on my shelves for 15 years and I haven't read it yet. I did read that Jeff has been reading a different series by Robotham. I should read something by him.
What I read in Lonely Hearts Book Club also makes me want to read Remains of the Day. I have always thought it would be too depressing.
It's funny but this is the kind of book I find myself reading more and more too (in fact I think I might even have this on my Kindle.) I wonder if it's something to do with how crazy and unstable the world is right now and our need for books that reassure us that people can still be kind to one another?
It is depressing but the central problem is fascinating. What if you don't see someone clearly for an entire lifetime. What if it ends up costing you everything.
I need more "feel good" novels in my life these days. I've read an awful lot of heavy stuff in recent years. This sounds interesting to me. Like you, I've only read the Amy Tan novel of those three. If I do another Classic Club list, I know the LMM book will be on it (and might read it anyway) and I already have the Ishiguro tagged at the library. I've read two others of his and loved them. I need to go see if my Libby has this one.
Cath, you are probably right, I don't think the world has ever been this confusing and unsettled (in my lifetime). I have always read mystery novels for escape and relaxation, now I am broadening that more and more to other types of books.
Patti, thanks for following up on your thoughts about Remains of the Day. I found an article at the Booker Prize site that is a guide to Kazuo Ishiguro's books. I think I would like several of them.
Kelly, for most of my reading life, I have concentrated on mystery fiction. I read about half contemporary mysteries and half vintage mysteries like Rex Stout, Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, so not too much of it was dark and dreary. But I did bypass most "lighter" fiction like the books by Fredrik Backman. I only read A Man Called Ove earlier this year. Now I will be looking for more of Backman's books.
It sounds like a fantastic book, Tracy. I, too, like the book club theme, and it sounds as though the characters are solidly developed and not cliché. I'm really glad you enjoyed this; I may have to look for it myself.
Margot, the book worked very well for me. It touched on various characteristics of the three books I mentioned, enough to spur my interest in them. I had forgotten a lot about The Joy Luck Club even though I liked it when I read it. And the characters felt real.
I too like feel good books and it sounds like The Lonely Hearts Book Club is well written and the characters well drawn which is very important. I read Anne of Green Gables recently and I was impressed. L M Montgomery is a very fine writer.
Kathy, I am looking forward to reading Anne of Green Gables, after I resisted it for all these years. And a plus, it is set in Canada on Prince Edward Island.
Remains of the Day is a classic. I read it when I was on an Ishiguro binge. And now I want to read him once again:)
You know I loved this one. It is a feel good kind of book. And I loved all the bookish things about it. Glad you enjoyed it, too. :D
I am adding this to my list. As you may recall, I work one or two shifts per month as a librarian and am quite aware of several curmudgeons who come to the library every day to read the newspaper, enjoy the air conditioning, and sometimes test the librarians' patience (there is one charming fellow who banters, but most seem sullen). I wonder what my colleagues would do if they disappeared and if they actually know their names. I will discreetly investigate.
Anne of Green Gables is one of my favorite books and I loved my trip to Prince Edward Island in 2015. Can you sub it in for a book on your Classics Spin? I would drop The Wind in the Willows or Alice in Wonderland (good but you've probably read it already, and the ending is annoying - I won't say why but you probably know).
Michael Rowbotham's books are extremely engrossing but the violent nature of the underlying crimes can be disturbing. I was astonished when one of my coworkers whose taste is more self-help started reading one by accident. However, she liked it so much she is on book 3!
Neer, I have been looking into Ishiguro's books. We have a book sale in September where I will look for some of his books. There are a lot of contemporary authors that I have ignored when I was concentrating more on mystery fiction. Not that I have given that genre up.
Lark, I am pretty sure that it was your review that steered me to this book initially. And I am glad of that.
Constance, our friends in Stockton are retired librarians who worked in the Bay Area. I think that the libraries that they worked in were small enough that they would know people who regularly came in. One of them was at the same library for 30 years (Sunnyvale). But the people in the library in this novel seemed to get along a lot better than in their libraries.
I plan to get to Anne of Green Gables sometime this year but I don't want to swap it for anything on my Classics list.
I will keep in mind what you said about the Robotham books. It probably depends a lot on how I like the writing.
I remember reading Lonely Hearts but can't find a trace of my thoughts about it anywhere I look. It must have dropped through the crack when life was a bit more troublesome than it thankfully is now. I remember most of the plot details so clearly that it bugs me that that happened. I think I was probably reading a lot of "book club" novels during that period because they seemed/seem to be everywhere you look.
Sam, there do seem to be a lot of Book Club and bookstore novels, lately, but luckily so far I have enjoyed reading all of them. I always get a kick out of books that mention books and characters reading them, so that probably helps.
There are a couple of the books I read in June that I can remember little about the story, even though I remember enjoying them when I read them.
Nothing wrong with uplifting books that surround book clubs and reading and people becoming less lonely. Sort of nice to read when the world turns bleak.
Very true, Susan. Until the last few years I hadn't made room for that type of book in my reading, and now I am surprised at how I am opening up to new types of books.
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