Having read the large print edition, the postmistress by sarah blake qualifies for book over 500 pages in another book club. Sarah blakes the postmistress is filled with people and images that, just like the letter at the core of the story, will continue to haunt the reader long after the book is closed. Experience world war 2 through the eyes of two very different women in this captivating new york times bestseller by the author of the guest book. The detail that went into describing the australian bush town made me feel as if i was there. The girl you left behind by jojo moyes reading guidebook.
Did you think this book was well written and at times did you feel yourself there. The hard cover copy of this book has 318 pages so it is not a long book but it does capture the time period and is well written. In 1940, iris james is the postmistress in coastal franklin, massachusetts. Maxine patch, the postmistress, was posing for him when the snake dropped down onto her and created chaos. Sarah blake is the author of the novels the guest book, grange house, and the new york times bestseller the postmistress. Here are a few things we discussed during the meeting. The page turners meet the first wednesday of the month at 6. Or if you would like, listen to it for free with an audible trial from amazon. As of yet i havent reached an unputdownable bit but it is a very good read. I love the way it is written, it feels different to a lot of other war books. The postmistress by sarah blake book club discussion. And what if a story has no definite or easy ending. Iris james is postmistress for the town of franklin on the tip of cape cod. This book would make a great film, always something going on and.
Blake, who published a bestselling novel called the postmistress in 2010. The postmistress by sarah blake reading group guide. Only if you feel you must read every book by sarah blake or every book written during this time period. Below is a list of book club selections from years past.
The postmistress discussion 4 i have to be honest, this book was just okay for me. Murrow in london and is on the cutting edge of a transformative era in american war reporting. Matheson memorial library offers two book discussion groups. Author interviews npr interviews with top authors and the npr book tour, a weekly feature and podcast where leading authors read and discuss their writing. Murrow, frankie bard meets a cape cod doctor in a shelter and promises that shell deliver a letter for him when she finally returns to the united states. Those who carry the truth sometimes bear a terrible burden filled with stunning parallels to todays world, the postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary womenand of two countries torn apart by war. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. The sunday times bestseller the postmistress by sarah blake is a heartrending and profoundly moving story of love and loss in world war ii. While i thought the postmistress was a good book, in the end, i didnt think it was extraordinary, and i didnt feel it had anything new to offer. So far i would recommend this book a 710 but i have yet to finish it.
It is the fall of 1940, and iris james has been the postmistress of franklin, massachusetts, a little seaside town at the end of the cape, for about a year. On monday, december 1st, the booked for the day book group met to discuss, the postmistress by sarah blake. The postmistress by sarah blake pdf download cadfael. This is a wrenching, beautifully written book that contrasts the atmosphere of smalltown america in. One book one island 2020 now in its 14th year, one book one island is a community reading project with a mission to connect nantucket readers through the written word and ten days of free programs. The postmistress book club discussion questions arlenes. The secrets we kept began with a prologue from the typists in the soviet russia division of the u. This rare species of gilded immutability is easy to mock, but its difficult to locate the authors sympathies.
Sarah blakes masterful, the postmistress, serves us all this and more. Playful poetry and pensive prose capital area womens. How does it inform your reading of the postmistress. Georgetown township public library book discussion guide. Maybebut blake makes it work, even when parts of her beautifully written book meander more than the cape cod dunes against which much of the tale unfolds. It is not a great book, but it is a good book with an interesting story. Get a glass of water or look at buzzfeed or start working on your memoir. What part does complacency play in the postmistress. The following version of this book was used to create the guide. On the one hand, the book is beautifully written and the language is lovely. Barbara kingsolvers, the bean trees, is a novel about a young woman, taylor greer, who is ready to make her mark on the world when a native american woman abandons a child with. Praise for the postmistress some novels we savor for their lapidary prose, others for their flesh and blood characters, and still others for a sweeping narrative arc that leaves us lightheaded and changed. When frankie returns to america, she finds it impossible to grasp that people are calmly going about their lives while war rages in europe. The postmistress sarah blake, 2010 penguin group usa 326 pp.
Moving back and forth between wartime and 30 years. The postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. On the eve of the united statess entrance into world war ii in 1940, iris james, the postmistress of franklin, a small. The postmistress summer is usually my no book group time, when i have no reading obligations because both of my regular book groups take the summer off, but my librarys pick for its july discussion prompted me to set aside my big book summer challenge for a while. The postmistress is the first book by alison stuart that i have read and i thoroughly enjoyed it. Filled with stunning parallels to todays world, the postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two. You can get the paperback book of the postmistress here. When frankie returns to america, she doesnt understand finds it impossible to grasp that people are calmly going about their lives while war rages in europe.
I liked the book, the 19401941 settings the small cape cod town of franklin, usa, and london, england and the main characters. How do you think the experience of listening to the news via radio in the 1940s differs from our experience of getting news from the television or the internet. There are times when i read a book and the first thought i have is, this would make a good book club book. The postmistress is a new perspective on a world war ii story and a book that combines strong characters and currentsounding events. Last week my book club met for the discussion of the postmistress by sarah blake. Compassionate, insightful, and unsentimental, this masterful novel is told in a rare and highly successful. Please put your comments for the postmistress book club discussion questions in the comments area below. I did consider trying it in audio but my library did not carry it. About this book those who carry the truth sometimes bear a terrible weight. Any page references refer to a usa edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions. Sarah blake displays an intelligence in the telling of the story that is, sadly, all too rare these days. Much of the postmistress is centered on frankies radio broadcastseither frankie broadcasting them, or the other characters listening to them.
What stance towards war, and of telling a war story does this reveal. Most of the townspeople of franklin think the war cant touch them. On the eve of the united statess entrance into world war ii in 1940, iris james, the postmistress of franklin, a small town on cape cod, does the. Bookbundlz if you are in a book club, reading group or just a book enthusiast, we are lookin to help you. Please join us in the postmistress book club discussion questions. The postmistress, sarah blakes ambitious second novel, probes the very nature of narrative. The postmistress is not the main protagonist in this tale, the roving reporter heads the cast of characters and after finishing the novel, i would have renamed it the correspondent. It is one of those stories that will lend itself to a spirited debate with your book loving friends. The postmistress is a story that you will be thinking about weeks and months later. Discuss the significance of the martha gellhorn quote at the beginning of the book.
While war is raging in europe, in the united states president roosevelt promises he wont send american boys over to fight. She huddles close to terrified strangers in underground shelters, and later broadcasts stories about survivors in rubblestrewn streets. There were moments when it was really good, and other moments where i was skimming and my headheart wasnt in it. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. In the thick of the chaos is young american radio reporter frankie bard. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of berkley books. And how every story of love or war is about looking left when we should have been looking right. This years selection is the overstory, by richard powers.
Not my usual genre of reading but this historical fictionromance was a wonderful read. The postmistress by sarah blake reading guidebook club. While war is raging in europe, in the united states president roosevelt. Iris knows more about the townspeople than she will ever say, and believes her job is to deliver secrets.
But if youre curious about these books and their kicktothestomach endings. So the postmistress invents frankie bard, a famous news gal who works with edward r. Sarah blake is the author of the novels grange house and the new york times bestseller the postmistress. It would make suitable reading group material and i shall recommend it to our book club. Would you recommend this book to a friend or another book club to read. Everyones secrets pass through her hands, but iris, a 40yearold virgin, reveres the ethical standards her position confers, order imposed on the chaos. Why you cant understand 21stcentury american politics with an 18thcentury brain by george lakoff pdf download. Use these questions to discuss the story, literary elements. Iris james is the postmistress and spinster of franklin. Again, the hilarity of the situation is further heightened by the quiet, nervous moment that comes before it.
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