The History Book Club discussion

Hello Everyone,

For the week of November 16th - November 22nd, we are reading BOOK ONE: 1945 -Section Four - The Dak Bungalow - Chapter One (pg. 407 - 413) - Section Five - The Circuit House - Chapter one (pg. 407 - 413) - Chapter Two (pg. 413 - 426 ~ A Division of the Spoils -Book IV,(pg. 407 - 426).

The week's reading assignment is:

WEEK TWELVE- November 16h ~ PART ONE: Section Four - The Dak Bungalow - Section Five - The Circuit House (pg. 407 - 426)

We will open up a thread for each week's reading. Please make sure to post in the particular thread dedicated to those specific chapters and page numbers to avoid spoilers. We will also open up supplemental threads as we did for other spotlighted books.

This book was kicked off on August 31st.

We look forward to your participation. Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other noted on line booksellers do have copies of the book and shipment can be expedited. The book can also be obtained easily at your local library, local bookstore or on your Kindle. Make sure to pre-order now if you haven't already. This weekly thread will be opened up on Nobember 16th.

There is no rush and we are thrilled to have you join us. It is never too late to get started and/or to post.

Jill will be leading this discussion and back-up will be Bentley.

Welcome,

~Bentley

TO ALWAYS SEE ALL WEEKS' THREADS SELECT VIEW ALL

by Paul Scott

REMEMBER NO SPOILERS ON THE WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREADS - ON EACH WEEKLY NON SPOILER THREAD - WE ONLY DISCUSS THE PAGES ASSIGNED OR THE PAGES WHICH WERE COVERED IN PREVIOUS WEEKS. IF YOU GO AHEAD OR WANT TO ENGAGE IN MORE EXPANSIVE DISCUSSION - POST THOSE COMMENTS IN ONE OF THE SPOILER THREADS. THESE CHAPTERS HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION SO WHEN IN DOUBT CHECK WITH THE CHAPTER OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY TO RECALL WHETHER YOUR COMMENTS ARE ASSIGNMENT SPECIFIC. EXAMPLES OF SPOILER THREADS ARE THE GLOSSARY, THE BIBLIOGRAPHY, THE INTRODUCTION AND THE BOOK AS A WHOLE THREADS.

Notes:

It is always a tremendous help when you quote specifically from the book itself and reference the chapter and page numbers when responding. The text itself helps folks know what you are referencing and makes things clear.

Citations:

If an author or book is mentioned other than the book and author being discussed, citations must be included according to our guidelines. Also, when citing other sources, please provide credit where credit is due and/or the link. There is no need to re-cite the author and the book we are discussing however.

If you need help - here is a thread called the Mechanics of the Board which will show you how to cite books:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Introduction Thread:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Table of Contents and Syllabus

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Glossary

Remember there is a glossary thread where ancillary information is placed by the moderator. This is also a thread where additional information can be placed by the group members regarding the subject matter being discussed.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Bibliography

There is a Bibliography where books cited in the text are posted with proper citations and reviews. We also post the books that the author used in his research or in his notes. Please also feel free to add to the Bibliography thread any related books, etc with proper citations. No self promotion, please.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...


Book as a Whole and Final Thoughts - SPOILER THREAD

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

by Paul Scott

Chapter Summary and Overview

Sarah meets with Rowan and tries to enlist his help in stopping the marriage of Susan to Merrick. Rowan is not willing and wants to know why. Sarah is afraid that the Hari Kumar mishandled investigation will come up and Merrick's name will be front and center.

Sarah opens Barbie's belongings and her sadness is overwhelming. She also thinks about Rowan and how he might have been the man for her but the Susan/Merrick situation affected that possibility.

We now join Old Kasim and his new secretary as they arrive home at Circuit House and he wishes to see no one. He reads a letter from his daughter who says that Sayed (the son who joined the INA) is very hurt that his father has not communicated with him. Merrick arrives to let Kasim know exactly what is going to happen to Sayed. It appears that Sayed feels justified for joining the INA and additionally it might arise that he was involved of using torture on sepoy prisoners of war but Merrick is not sure and states that he doesn't believe that part of the expected charges is correct.. Kasim does not want to see Sayed until the trial.

I didn't think I realized that Sarah hated Merrick as much as she appears to.....granted, she doesn't want her family exposed to scandal if Merrick's malfeasance in the Kumar arrest is brought to light. But it seems to go deeper than that and it certainly would put the kibosh on any relationship between Sarah and Merrick who doesn't want to be his brother-in-law. This man has generated extreme dislike with everyone he met, even if they didn't know about Hari and that fiasco.

Merrick seems to give off a bad vibe. I thought he seemed at first to be more decent with Daphne early on and her Indian auntie. I also thought he seemed to get on OK with Rowan. He obviously gets along famously with his superiors because he climbs rank very fast.

Welcome back.

Glad to be back.

I also rather liked him or at least was neutral to him in the beginning...but as the author started dropping dark hints about his less than pleasant personality and his desire to climb up the professional ladder, I figured out maybe he wasn't the nicest of people. I think we know that part of his persona is his aspiration to be accepted as public school boy which he will never be. He is surrounded by upper and upper-middle class British and it obviously grates on him badly. I think he has fooled his superiors (who you have to admit aren't the sharpest crayons in the box) and keeps moving up in rank. But I have a sneaking suspicion his past will soon catch up with him.

Well I will not tell you what lies ahead - but Merrick has his demons and is guilty of many things - many of which we have discovered already

Karma is tough.

Why is Sarah's mother so adamant about inviting Rowan to the family dinner where Merrick will also be a guest? Does she need a buffer for herself or for Sarah......why is she so uncomfortable?

I am not sure - at first I thought she was trying to fix up Sarah but then again I could never be too sure what that woman was up to. I think in fact she accomplished the exact opposite. Sometimes I think women like her select their caretaker and want them to stay a spinster so that they have somebody else taking care of them, their needs and their family needs. It feels like Sarah was the chosen one.

As things move forward toward independence and partition, Old Kasim is now a free man and no longer under the wing of the Nawab. He is being treated with respect. The letter from his daughter reveals that she and her husband are strong supporters of the INA and of her brother Sayed who is currently under arrest. I can't quite decide how Kasim feels about the INA.....was their goal correct but their joining with the Axis was probably not. Any ideas?

I think Kasim (old Kasim) really started to doubt the motivations of the leaders who wanted to separate from India. I think he was suspect of Jinnah and his motivations.

https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/a...

by Akbar Ahmed (no photo)

When Merrick visits Kasim, the issue of Merrick's actions while in the police are brought up. Merrick thinks he is on an "enemies list" being collected by those who may be coming into power once the British leave India. And that he and Kasim will be opponents, which Kasim tells him will not be the case. Why is Merrick seemingly disappointed by this?

Merrick was very "full of drama" and had a very inflated opinion of his power, former reach and influence