"Drawing of Molly Allgood (Maire O'Neill) by Ben Bay, in the title role of Deirdre of the Sorrows by J.M. Synge, circa 1910. From the collection of the National Library of Ireland."

We will be discussing Irishman Joseph O’Connor’s novel Ghost Light. This thought provoking novel opens in the early 1900s in Dublin. The reader meets W. B. Yeats who is writing a play with inspiration from popular playwright John Synge, a “real” playwright who was the author of Playboy of the Western World and Tinker’s Wedding. Synge becomes romantically involved with Molly Allgood, who is a much younger strong willed, talented actress who often stars in his plays. Their love affair is played out in the novel so very beautifully. (Author Joseph O’Connor grew up in Dublin “watching” the house on the hill where playwright John Synge wrote his plays.)

The reader is then propelled forward to 1950s London where Molly reflects on her lost love John Synge who died an early death. Through a series of flashbacks, the reader gets to experience Molly’s tumultuous life during and after Synge’s death. Her love memories, which float from Dublin to London to New York,  keep her alive even though her depleted life becomes horribly sad. Still, the power of the love story grows as the reader turns each page, becoming more and more involved in this novel.

As the author of Redemption Falls, and the world wide sensation Star of the Sea, Joseph O’Connor and his incredible talent as a writer rank at the top of my most admired present day authors. I heard him read at Lemuria  from Redemption Falls in 2007, and  I also heard him read last year from Ghost Light. His readings were both mesmerizing and energizing. It would be hard to find another author who reads his own work with such passion and love. The Irish accent does not hurt either!

Come join us when we discuss Ghost Light next Thursday. If you want more information about our book club, please email me at: nan@lemuriabooks.com.  Click here to see a full listing of everything our book club has read since 2007. Come join us for challenging discussions each month.

See a listing of all of Joseph O’Connor’s books here.

Enjoy a guest post by Joseph O’Connor here.

So, we began with maybe two or three members in attendance for each meeting. Our first title chosen was Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake. From there we moved to other great titles, primarily literary or contemporary fiction, with a sprinkling of some noteworthy non-fiction titles such as Three Cups of Tea.

Our members show diversity both in their literary taste, as well as in their professional and personal lives. Age is not an issue, nor is gender. The common feature that we all share is a love of noteworthy literature. Multiple cities and states of origin promote interest and create diversity in thought and comment. Though primarily composed of local Mississippians, especially native Jacksonians, we also have members who are natives of Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan. To add to the mix, two members give us an international flair with their countries of origin being Germany and Brazil. Therefore, we gain a cultural diversity of thought and opinion and experience which adds to the richness of the group.

We meet the first Thursday of each month, year round, at 12 p.m. Discussions around a table or two kick off at 12:15 p.m, so being a little late creates no problem. Meeting at our dot.com building, which is just outside of the Broadstreet Bakery north, side door, we meet for an hour. Members are free to bring a snack or beverage of choice. Centered around tables, our diverse group of around 10-12 members thoroughly enjoys our provoking literary discussions.

Atlantis members also receive a 10% discount on Atlantis selections.

Contact Nan Graves Goodman at Lemuria (601-366-7619), or by email: nan@lemuriabooks.com

2007 Atlantis Book Club Selections

2008 Atlantis Book Club Selections

2009 Atlantis Book Club Selections

2010 Atlantis Book Club Selections

2011 Atlantis Book Club Selections

2012 Atlantis Book Club Selections

The novel revolves around flowers, essentially the meaning or language of flowers. The protagonist, Victoria Jones, an orphan who has been in and out of numerous foster homes, has learned from her once favorite, but currently estranged, foster mom, all about the meaning of each flower. Even though she left that household at age 10, Victoria never forgot what she had learned and actually continued to teach herself about the meaning of flowers. Eventually, at age 18, when she had been fully emancipated from the girls’ group home, Victoria, now voluntarily homeless, lands a  job as a flower arranger at a local florist. Eventually she acquires a long list of customers who request her personally to design bridal bouquets, as well as other arrangements containing the flowers which send the messages or secret codes for the beloved.

Meet author Vanessa Diffenbaugh in the above video, courtesy of Random House. See Vanessa’s official website here.

As the novel progresses, love finds a way into Victoria’s life, as well as a demanding  newborn, but being unequipped for the emotions and demanding physical requirements, she flees. As the author works out the challenges of each character involved in this convoluted, but charismatic story, the reader sits on pins and needles hoping and desiring a positive outcome. One of the reasons that I believe this novel is so very successful is due to the fact that the author is a foster mom herself, having personal experience with the problems that foster girls face, particularly the matter of trust.

One of my favorite features of this novel is the flower glossary at the end which lists specific flowers and their meanings.In fact, gardeners will adore this book as well!  I will cherish it for years to come, and will also “use” it to remind myself of  the special “language of flowers.”

I thank Toni Hetzel, one of our brilliant Random House reps for saving this book for me, knowing all along how much I would like it! Liz, our other RH rep and Toni are like the ultimate book sellers, for they sell to us readers/book sellers at Lemuria, and they know our tastes and choices just as the staff here knows the tastes of our customers. It’s a pretty cozy relationship which has worked at Lemuria for over thirty years now, one more reason for praises for our independent book store! Can one find this at the big “box” stores? I think not!

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The Language of Flowers is a book written from the heart.

Vanessa and her husband, PK, have three children: Tre’von, eighteen; Chela, four; and Miles, three. Tre’von, a former foster child, is attending New York University on a Gates Millennium Scholarship.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh is also the founder of the Camellia Network.  The mission of the Camellia Network is to create a nationwide movement to support youth transitioning from foster care. In The Language of Flowers, Camellia [kuh-meel-yuh] means “My Destiny is in Your Hands.” The network’s name emphasizes the belief in the interconnectedness of humanity: each gift a young person receives will be accompanied by a camellia, a reminder that the destiny of our nation lies in the hands of our youngest citizens.

See Vanessa’s official website here.

The Language of Flowers will be released Tuesday, August 23, 2011.

While a lot of our discussion about The Long Song centered around the devastating  conditions of slavery on the sugar cane plantations in Jamaica in the mid 1800s, we also talked about the general state of all women, not only in Jamaica, but also in the United States during that time period when our country was expanding westward with the advent of the new transcontinental railroads, as well as the introduction of the telegraph and numerous industries. That led us to talking about other types of slavery, such as existed in the sweat shops with underage children in NY in the early part of the 20th century. Hence, one can see that our discussions lead from one challenging topic to another.

Come join us on Thursday, August 4, for our discussion of Parrot and Olivier by Peter Carey, another Man Booker nominee of 2010. Already a two time winner of the Man Booker, Carey is known for his incredible mastery of the English language. He is a talented wordsmith indeed.

The story, which has received international recognition, involves the lives of twin brothers whose mother dies in childbirth and whose father flees the country. The many plot twists and turns take the reader on a roller coaster ride and explore the personal lives of the brilliant twins, who both turn to medicine, just as their father, and adopted mother and father have. Cutting for Stone also examines the political and social unrest in Ethiopia. A very lengthy and provocative novel, Cutting for Stone, is well worth the time spent in reading its over 600 pages. Powerful and persuasive, the novel is filled with all types of love and loss and redemption.

On the first Thursday in May,the 5th, we will be talking about Nicole Krauss’s History of Love and on June 2, we will discuss Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin. We read novels which have already been released in paperback. If you join our book club, please tell the person at the cash register that you are a member, so that you will receive the book club’s discount.

We always have enthusiastic and delightful discussions, so come join us. If you want more information, email me at nan@lemuriabooks.com or call Lemuria and ask for me at 601.366.7619. If I am not in, I will be glad to return your call later. If you would like to be on our book club email list, please let me know.

“Astonishing, complex, beautifully written, and brilliant”…..Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

“Engrossing and Addictive”….NPR’s Morning Edition

“A Thrilling, Juicy Read….A Real Page-Turner”…..the Today Show

“Good to the Riveting End”….USA Today

On September 2, we’ll be discussing Woodsburner by John Pipkin. Based on the life of Henry David Thoreau and a particular incident where he accidentally set fire to the woods around Concord, resulting in the unfortunate burning of many homes and businesses, as well as beautiful woods, this historically accurate novel creates a compelling, provocative, captivating read. Many fictitious characters help Thoreau fight the fire and become very endearing to the reader. Reviews have been great:

” An Exceptional debut. Pipkin tells his story with the verve and authority of a veteran novelist. “…..Ron Rash, author of Serena

“What a terrific tale John Pipkin spins! He has taken a dramatic episode in the life of Henry David Thoreau and transformed it into a gripping and profound work of fiction.”….Doris Kearns Goodwin

“Witty, bawdy, philosophical,touching, and humorous, Woodsburner is a novel I didn’t want to end. This book is packed with interesting ideas, vital characters, and vivid writing.”……Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab’s Wife and Four Spirits

On Thursday, October 7, the book club will talk about a novel which was a finalist for he Pen/Faulkner Award, which did win the Orange Award: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. With a long list of superb publications, including Poisonwood Bible, Animal Dreams, Pigs in Heaven, and her last book which was non-fiction, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Kingsolver knows how to weave a tale! The Lacuna, set in Mexico and in the United States in the early 1950s, follows the life of the protagonist who grew up in an extreme environment in Mexico and then used his experiences to become an award winning writer in the D.C. area.Reviewers have had laudatory remarks:

“The most mature and ambitious novel she’s written….An absorbing portrayal of American life at a time when the country moved swiftly from Depression to World War to consumerism spun through with political paranoia…..A rich novel with a large, colorful canvas.”…..Washington Post

“The story is so seductive, the prose is so elegant, the architecture of the novel so imaginative, it becomes hard to peel away from the book.”…..Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A work that is often close to magic.”….Denver Post

So, come join us for an invigorating look at these superb literary novels. We meet in Lemuria’s dot.com building just outside Broadstreet Bakery’s north door, at 5 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month for one hour. Readers, young and old, novice and expert, gather around a table and discuss great literature, and have fun while doing so! Email me at: nan@lemuriabooks.com to be added to our email book club list. I’ll be glad to add your name!

How much fun it would be if some of our other local book clubs got in on this action!!  I mean think about book clubs…how many times have you been at your meeting and discussion is going great….you get to a certain point and someone asks…”Why do you think the author decided to do that?” and then there are probably a few opinions but wouldn’t it be fantastic to just ask the author…”WHY?’ gosh you could even go with “WHO? WHAT? HOW? AND WHEN?”!!!!!

Seriously think about it!!!  So I’m challenging all of y’all out there to look at Lemuria’s upcoming signing schedule and pick out an author event come up to the store buy the book and get your questions ready!  If you are saying to yourself–”I’m not in a book club but would love to be”–then come on and join Atlantis, Lemuria’s book club.  We would love to have you!!

Ironically, Zenie and her husband Ray’s home in Shake Rag becomes the place where Florence spends most of her growing up days sleeping and recuperating from her primary home life in the deep oppressive heat  of a Mississippi summer, but it is also where she feels love, even though that love is sometimes complicated  and stirred with mixed racial messages which Florence does not understand.  A forward thinking educated niece comes to live with Zenie and Ray and tutors Florence in English grammar, particularly in sentence diagramming, since Florence has been tossed from one school system to another and is basically several grades behind where she should be. Eva also becomes a mother or older sister figure and introduces Florence  to make-up and hair tricks which Florence’s mother neglects doing for her lonely daughter who has no friends. The only true happiness which Florence finds comes when her grandmother sends her to a two week camp in Mentone, Alabama, which will delight many Mississippi parents who drove  their children to Lookout Mountain summer after summer for the long awaited delightful camp experience.

The reader will see the resemblance between Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird and Florence  in The Queen of Palmyra immediately. Lee Smith, well known Southern author of  many popular novels, including Oral History, Saving Grace, and On Agate Hill commented on The Queen of Palmyra, “Here it is, the most powerful and lyrical novel about race, racism, and denial in the American South since To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Jill McCorkle, also popular Southern author of the recent short story selection Going Away Shoes, said about The Queen of Palmyra, “A brilliant and compelling novel….the beauty of the prose, the strength of voice, and the sheer force of circumstance will hold the reader spellbound from beginning to end.”

Lemuria’s book club “Atlantis” has decided to choose this readable novel for our June pick. So, all readers are invited to join us on Thursday, June 3, to discuss The Queen of Palmyra . Also be sure to come join us on Wednesday, June 16, for the reading/signing by Minrose Gwin, who  also teaches literary fiction at The University of North Carolina. Additionally a writer of creative non-fiction and poetry, she has written three scholarly books and is a coeditor of The Literature of the American South and Southern Literary Journal.

………………….Nan

For January, we’ll be reading The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee. Set in 1942, in Hong Kong, the story revolves around a newly arrived Englishman who becomes involved with a young married woman newly settled in the city. However, his past relationship, ten years prior, clouds their love as the story becomes  more and more entangled by politics, war, prisons, and famine.

For February, City of Refuge, a novel by Tom Piazza, which won the Willie Morris award this year, explores the psychological conflicts between remaining loyal to New Orleans after Katrina versus “what is right for one’s family.” Character driven, City of Refuge not only explores the physical devastation left by Katrina, but also the emotional carnage left.

For March, we will discuss Canadian Gil Adamson’s The Outlander. Full of action set in the snow covered mountains of the west  in the early 1900s, this captivating novel follows a woman who desperately tries to outrun her murdered husband’s twin red headed brothers. On horseback, she frantically flees encountering numerous obstacles and curious people.

So, that should whet your appetite for some good reads. Members of the book club receive a 10% discount on the book club selections. Even if you can’t work “Atlantis” into your schedule, read these enticing titles. They are all out in paperback! A great stocking stuffer, each of these would be as well!

Happy Holiday Reading,

Nan