I wanted to send around a brief recap of our April gathering to discuss Geek Love, hosted by Tricia. The 10 readers who were present, including one new reader (Hi Sarah!), were split pretty evenly on if they would recommend the book. The overarching theme that most of us got out of the book was the idea that what you grow up with is what you consider normal. Tricia lead us in a pretty intense conversation of what we found redeemable & likable about the characters. Speaking personally, throughout the book and coming to the meeting, I could not find many redeemable qualities about these characters, but by the end of our discussion, I had come around on many points, including the fact that Oly in the present time caring about her daughter's future is heartwarming (if not bizarre).
A particularly poignant part of the discussion centered around the different types of murder featured in the book and our different feelings toward them. Most readers were ok with Oly's murder plot for Ms. Lick, but we were not ok with Arty's nor Ms. Lick's murderous tendencies. Additionally, a particularly intense discussion was had about the morality of the reproductive choices Oly's parents made in creating their family. Among the mothers and non-parents in the group, there was much disagreement, and a much longer, deeper conversation could be had about this book, reproductive rights, and women's rights could be had.
The universally liked aspects of this book were the characters themselves - the fact that they were like prisms - and the lessons that were learned about people and life in general. Thank you to Tricia for picking a challenging, though provoking read!
A particularly poignant part of the discussion centered around the different types of murder featured in the book and our different feelings toward them. Most readers were ok with Oly's murder plot for Ms. Lick, but we were not ok with Arty's nor Ms. Lick's murderous tendencies. Additionally, a particularly intense discussion was had about the morality of the reproductive choices Oly's parents made in creating their family. Among the mothers and non-parents in the group, there was much disagreement, and a much longer, deeper conversation could be had about this book, reproductive rights, and women's rights could be had.
The universally liked aspects of this book were the characters themselves - the fact that they were like prisms - and the lessons that were learned about people and life in general. Thank you to Tricia for picking a challenging, though provoking read!