Book club 501

On Chapter 14 as of today.

Hi Fluerette

Yes my one dissapointment about the book club is that we havn't really spent any time discussing the books after we finished them, so if we can pause here to spend a few days discussing Stones by the river that would be cool.

Yes there were too many characters while you could make a case that is the way that life works e.g. we have people that pop up in our lives for 6-12 months that are front and centre for us and then they drift out of our lives, at the end of the day it is a book, it is meant to be entertaining rather than mirroring real life and as such there should have been fewer characters.

There were some parts of the book I adored Fluerette. I liked that after Eva told Trudi a secret that she had a ugly birth mark on her chest, Trudi then told the story at school so she could have a fleeting 15 seconds of popularity. And while the 15 seconds were happening she was aware it would only be 15 seconds but still it was worth it to her. Then I liked how the big girls chased Eva and pinned her to a fence and unbuttoned her shirt to see the scar themselves. It seemed very real.

I didn't really get the whole secrets motif and why Trudi was fascinated with them. Where were we going with that and what value did it add. And in the end we were told "Trudi realised as a dwarf her secret had been visible to all". That sounds cool as a one liner but does it mean anything. I certainly can't figure it out.

The parts of the book that were the most page turning was her love affair with her boy friend. However why did the lover have to dissapear. Why must all stories end sadly. It seems like a stupid formula that we must dissappoint the reader and have a finish where the characters end up alone and miserable. Perhaps authors think it will be hokey if they have a happy ending, that must be it I guess.

Eva was captured and presumably tortured and then killed by the Nazis. Remember how the idiot said she needed to leave the hiding spot of Trudis house because she wanted to spend the night and have a make out session with her husband. So she did and was captured by the Nazis. What an idiot eva was. I hope your husband is an expert at making out and that you got your moneys' worth out of that session Eva.
Trudi was very lucky that Eva never gave up to the Nazis that she had been hiding at Trudis place.

3 out of 5 stars

Do you think Trudi was intelligent?
Do you think TRudi was mean for not writing letters of commendation for people after the Americans looked for war criminals
What are small parts here and there that resonated with you.

I wanted her and Max to end up together yes. I and I don't like how every book I read ends up with a sad ending. Why. Why must we hurt the feelings of the reader. I have spent 500 pages following the character and I am emotionally invested. I want a good outcome. I don't care that real life is crappy and has sad endings this is an entertainment product and I want to feel happy after reading it and not miserable.
As a tangent in real life I am willing to stretch the truth to make people happy so I certainly don't beleive a fiction book should value authenticity over its characters being happy.
Here is a story you may or may not be able to relate to as a christian. A girl in a bible study I used to belong to some years ago had her mother die. She asked the group leader if her mother would go to heaven as the mother apparently had always beleived in Jesus but had lapsed practicing as a christian for a number of the most recent years prior to her passing.
The head of the bible study doubted she would go to heaven which upset the poor girl. I was a new christian and new nothing at the time but told her i disagreed because God can exhibit grace towards anyone. She didn't believe me as she wanted to hear it from the group leader who was the expert. My point is that regardless of what the truth was I told that girl her mother would have a happy ending because I think it is important to make each other happy even if is falsehoods.
I have told this story to other christians and they told me I was in the wrong.

"The part that resonated with me is how she is different from others. I am different than other not by physical terms but mentally I have a very severe mental illness that makes me different than others. For all the years that she wasn't dating Max, I resonated with her aloneness and feeling different."

Well I am different too Fluerette, I am a member of an racial minority in my country. When I meet someone else of any other racial minority even if not my own we immediately connect because we have been through the same path.
Likewise on this web site you are not the only one with a mental illness. Perhaps your severeness exceeds others but many of us are on medication. Just like I bond with ethnic minorities so I have bonded with all of you as we have walked a hard path and a hard life. I look forward to the day when they invent some drugs which control negative schizophrenia symptoms to alleviate your symptoms. I noticed one in trial mode the other day but probably 5 years away from production.

I found your response to be most excellent and helped my understanding of the book.

The other part that resonated me was the conversation while Trudi brushed evas hair when they were adults and eva was hiding at trudi's.
It came to light that Trudi had a gentlemen caller at the library and it said that "Eva's eyes glistened as they discerned this news and then she pressed for more details."
Eva was a true friend. I like true friendships. You are my online friend Fluerette. Thanks for being in this book club with me!
I will post some books in Book club 601 by the end of the weekend.

Feel free to post any thoughts in response to my post,