Booking Through Thursday -- 4/23

Question suggested by Barbara H:
My husband is not an avid reader, and he used to get very frustrated in college when teachers would insist discussing symbolism in a literary work when there didn’t seem to him to be any. He felt that writers often just wrote the story for the story’s sake and other people read symbolism into it.
It does seem like modern fiction just “tells the story” without much symbolism. Is symbolism an older literary device, like excessive description, that is not used much any more? Do you think there was as much symbolism as English teachers seemed to think? What are some examples of symbolism from your reading?

I do think symbolism is an older device. It seems that all the novels I read are either plot or character driven and symbolism is left behind. With that said, I asked author Anita Diamant at our last book club author chat what the symbolism of the dogs were in The Last Days of Dogtown. I really thought this was a great question, that there was some bigger message I was missing in the symbolism. Her answer was that she doesn't use symbolism in her writing. I am still a little embarrassed. So maybe symbolism is something that the reader finds even if it wasn't the intent of the author.

But there are also novels such as Shelter Me by Juliette Fay. I would think that the porch being built is a symbol of the main character trying to rebuild her life after her husband's death. Was that the author's intent or am I just seeing connections where there aren't any?

What do you think? (Want to play along? Go to Booking Through Thursday)

Talking with Anita Diamant

At last night's book club meeting, we had the privilege of speaking with Anita Diamant, author of The Last Days of Dogtown. Anita Diamant is from Massachusetts where the novel takes place and actually owns a house on Cape Ann -- the setting of The Last Days of Dogtown. To research the novel, Ms. Diamant used resources found at the local historical society as well as the Newton Public Library to give the novel the historical accuracy needed. Ms. Diamant told the group that while Judy Rhimes was the 'emotional center' of the novel, she felt that the key to her novel was the relationships between the characters. We also learned about her writing process and the 3 years of research and writing it took to make The Last Days of Dogtown the novel it is today. Anita Diamant's next book, Day After Night, set in Palestine in 1945 will be in bookstores this September. Thanks once again to Anita Diamant for taking the time to discuss The Last Days of Dogtown with us. We look forward to reading her next book.

**Next month's book club selection is Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. We will also be speaking with Mr. Henkin at our monthly meeting so look for my review and post detailing our conversation.

Review -- The Last Days of Dogtown

The Last Days of Dogtown
by Anita Diamant
Published by Scribner, 2005
261 pages
April 2009 Book Club Selection

Summary: Anita Diamant's novel follows the lives of a group of settlers living in Dogtown as they endure the hardships of life and death.

Review: This book was very unique in its structure. In the first chapter, we meet all the inhabitants of Dogtown as they come together to look over the dead body of Abraham Wharf. Meeting so many characters at once was a little overwhelming, I worried that I would not remember everyone. However, each subsequent chapter tells a story about one of the characters that we meet in the beginning. Through each of these stories, we learn more and more about the individuals who make Dogtown their home. Around half way through the novel, I realized that I cared what happened to some of these characters, I didn't want Oliver to get into trouble and ruin his future and I wanted Judy to find love. Overall, a beautifully written book about a difficult time in early American history, ripe with interesting and entertaining characters. Rating: **** out of 5

**Don't forget to check out my book club posting on April 6th to get the details of our discussion with the author, Anita Diamant.

Friday Finds

This week's Friday Finds comes from Book Club Girl. Her book club has decided to read Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. The story follows Anna, who one day wakes up in her mother's house to find she has lost all memory of how she got there. She then begins a journey through the use of psychics and mediums to find out what happened. I haven't read anything by Marian Keyes and this book sounds like my cup of tea. I already received an email from the library saying that they are holding a copy for me, so hopefully by next week I will have a review to share!

I also wanted to announce that I have chosen my second selection for the 1% Well Read Challenge. I will be reading I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti. If you missed the review of my first selection (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon), then click here. Next week don't forget to stop by and check out reviews of November 22, 1963 by Adam Braver and The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant (my book club's April selection). There will also be DVD reviews of The Duchess, Henry Poole is Here, and Death Race (I know, I know -- I am a sucker for Jason Statham).

Have a great weekend!

Jess