The Cats Table June CC Book Club Selection

ignatius · June 17, 2012, 4:50pm

Re the statue in Miss Lasqueti’s room: I agree in toto with Mary’s post 196 .

As for the next book: I like the idea that the August book might be either a duo or a longer book. Our last two choices have been short to accommodate busy schedules … but now it’s summer. sylvan mentioned a mystery or thriller - another good idea as it’s a switch-up. Our last two selections have been serious, introspective. But now its summer and something with some fun to it (yet something that can gender discussion) might be nice.

I threw out a bunch of titles yesterday (several seriously considered previously) but don’t want to be the only one to do so. So weed some out. I think three have been tossed so far: The Lion Is In, The Dovekeepers, and The Song of Achilles duo, and then add in suggestions from others.

I have six I favor on the above list but want to wait to see what others think or suggest.

NJTheatreMOM · June 17, 2012, 4:56pm

Haha…dreamiss and slumbrage. I like those, SJCM.

I propose another one: Schlafenfreude - happiness because of a dream. (As opposed to the real word “schadenfreude,” happiness about the misfortune of another person.)

Does everyone know the Ave Q song “Schadenfreude”…or only those of us who are the parents of theatre kids?
[Avenue</a> Q Schadenfreude - YouTube](<a href=“Avenue Q Schadenfreude - YouTube”>Avenue Q Schadenfreude - YouTube)

NJTheatreMOM · June 17, 2012, 5:32pm

Okay, I’d like to remove “The Blind Assassin.” I read some more about it and it actually doesn’t sound as good as I thought. Anyway, just because a book is on that Time Magazine list doesn’t mean it would be a good book club choice…or even liked by many.

Going with the theme of something more light and fun, or maybe a duo or longer book, these would be the ones that would most interest me:

<ol>
<li>“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.” It’s well reviewed, and there’s a movie of it (that I haven’t seen) which is supposed to be good too and is coming out on DVD in July. </li>
<li>“Sister” by Rosamund Lupton, or maybe “The Expats” by Chris Pavone.</li>
<li>“House of Silk” by Anthony Horowitz and “Hound of the Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. </li>
</ol>

All but one of these selections have been suggested before, so I know people have fairly positive impressions of them.

Actually, though, I’d be okay with anything on the list, after the recent exclusion requests have all been honored.

ignatius · June 17, 2012, 6:16pm

I admit that NJTM’s list of three - or four +, I guess - are also on my list of six + or so I favor at the moment.

The Submission … religion and politics … hmm … election year … maybe not … though I suggested it and do want to read it eventually.

sylvan8798 · June 17, 2012, 10:42pm

Housekeeping is on my short list (as is the housekeeping, but never mind that ;)). Sisters would be in my top three as well. I think Red Harvest might not appeal to everyone.

buenavista · June 17, 2012, 10:59pm

Thanks for all the thoughtful ideas on Miss Lasqueti’s mannequin–it makes much more sense now! I still think it’s an awfully large thing to bring along in your cabin, but thinking of her as Miss Havisham helps. I think Miss Lasqueti really meant Emily to see the scar more than Michael–but then she didn’t follow through by sharing her story. Michael didn’t have a clue at the time what it all meant; only later when he read the letter.

Was it ever mentioned why Miss Lasqueti was on the ship or why she was in Ceylon? And I assume Michael never gave Emily the letter.

SJCM–I forgot to mention that I also like your idea of Miss Lasqueti as Hekate! I once had a black cat named Hekate; my high school English teacher named her. :-)

NJTheatreMOM · June 17, 2012, 11:24pm

Sylvan, I do think “Housekeeping” sounds excellent and I’ll probably give it a go on my own at some point, but it might be deemed too dark and poignant a novel for our summer reading choice. (I must admit I do tend to favor the darker kind of book myself.)

Buenavista, I was also thinking about the statue being large, but then I remembered that in that era, people used big, heavy steamer trunks and the like. Quite different from the air travel era.

I also wondered whether Miss Lasqueti was actually Sri Lankan like so many of the other characters. Anyway, since she was coming from Sri Lanka, more than likely she obtained the figure there. I am wondering if maybe it was not a heavy, expensive statue of stone or whatever, but maybe something made of plaster or even papier mache.

Mary13 · June 18, 2012, 12:28am

Re the above, I just stumbled across this line from Miss Lasqueti’s letter: “He would take the index finger of my hand, that had loved him intimately a half-hour earlier, and guide it over the outline of a bowl or a bridge or a cat’s back—I still remember quite specifically a drawing of a woman’s lap, with hands holding on to a struggling cat” (p. 226).

From p. 74—I think this answers both questions:

Also FYI, Miss Lasqueti refers to her “blonde hair” on p. 223, so it sounds to me like she is a white Englishwoman working in some capacity for the British government.

buenavista, I agree with you–I don’t think Michael ever gave Emily the letter. His (weak) excuse was, “I had not seen Emily for years, and had no clue as to where she was” (p. 216).

Although we’ll never know for sure, I like sylvan8798’s idea that the statue was given to Miss Lasqueti by Horace and that is why she disfigured it and why she keeps it as a memento. She does say on p. 223 that Horace taught her “the virtues of alabaster” and then Michael refers to the mannequin’s “alabaster belly” (p. 210). Not definitive proof by any means, but it feels right to me.

NJTheatreMOM · June 18, 2012, 1:15am

I tended to think Miss Lasqueti was British also, but I didn’t think it was impossible for her to be Sri Lankan. There are Sri Lankans who are blond because of the racial mixing there. I found an article on the “burgher people” of Sri Lanka that talks about this.

Lasqueti is a Spanish name. When you google it, you mostly get references to the Canadian island that was mentioned upthread. (The island was named after a Spanish explorer.) It seems very likely that Ondaatje knew about the island and gave the character its name.

Mary13 · June 18, 2012, 1:29am

Okay, here is our revised list. Good job people! To edit it down a bit further, I am going to remove The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie because I’ve read it (albeit years ago) and because I think we can tackle more than its short 160 pages for our next round. (If anyone reads the book, be sure to follow up with the great movie adaptation starring Maggie Smith.) Anyway, this is how things look (with the titles being removed in red):

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson - too dark for summer reading

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood – may not be a good book club choice

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark– too short plus read by moi

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett - may not appeal to the majority of readers

In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

The Lion is In by Delia Ephron – may not have enough discussion potential

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

The Submission by Amy Waldman – religion, politics and CC posters may not mix well

The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman - probably not Hoffman’s best work

The Expats by Chris Pavone

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

Duets:

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte as an optional companion piece.

House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz and Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller and The Iliad by Homer – irrational fear of Homer

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

<hr>

So…the cleaned-up list:

In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

The Expats by Chris Pavone

Sister by Rosamund Lupton

Duets:

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz and Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma and The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Is everyone comfortable enough with the above seven selections to rank their top three?

SouthJerseyChessMom · June 18, 2012, 8:36am

My front runner

**House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz **

<ol>
<li>** Sister </li>
<li> Wide Sargasso Sea and Jane Eyre **</li>
</ol>

NJTheatreMOM · June 18, 2012, 9:00am

<ol>
<li>Wide Sargasso and Jane Eyre. (I think the discussion might be uneven if everyone did not manage to read both for August, but if this were the choice I would be very pleased because it sounds extremely interesting.)</li>
<li>For my number two spot I really don’t have a strong preference. However, I am a bit lukewarm on In Zanesville and The Map of Time, so my second choice would be one of the others: Salmon Fishing, Sister, House of Silk, or Expats in approximately that order.</li>
<li>See #2 above.</li>
</ol>

ignatius · June 18, 2012, 9:37am

I like the thoughts re Miss Lasqueti. I too wondered about the size of the mannequin, but its import to Miss Lasqueti probably overrides the inconvenience. She travels with a tapestry too. I gathered she works for Whitehall. In addition, to carrying a pistol and knowing how to use it, there is this:

I briefly wondered if she is the “plainclothes officer” - the “blind Perera” - when she mentions that her first name is Perinetta and “murmurs the name to herself again, as if it has not been used enough around her.”

NJTheatreMOM · June 18, 2012, 10:02am

I’d forgotten that her name was Perinetta! For having read the book twice, it’s amazing the way details keep escaping me, lol. I think it’s because so many things are lightly touched on…not reinforced by repetition.

Perinetta is Italian and Lasqueti is Spanish. Such an unusual name. Even if Miss Lasqueti is British, she almost certainly has family roots in other countries.

Sri Lankan names tend to strike us as exotic (the one actual Sri Lankan I have met had the last name “Wirratunga”), but Miss Lasqueti’s name is actually every bit as exotic. Compared with Daniels, Nevil, etc, Lasqueti is more like the Asians or Eurasians.

Mary13 · June 18, 2012, 10:17am

I agree. She says in her letter (p. 217), “I was fluid with languages and I loved Italian best.”

Being “fluid” with languages probably helped in her secret agent work, too. :)

ignatius · June 18, 2012, 10:22am

<ol>
<li> House of Silk/Hound of the Baskervilles
This is a strong #1 for me - a duo, that slides a classic into the mix. It includes mystery per request by sylvan. In addition, I’m so hooked on the BBC Sherlock … if you haven’t seen it … well then, you must. </li>
</ol>

[Sherlock</a> | Masterpiece | PBS](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/]Sherlock”>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/sherlock/) and look [Masterpiece</a> | Book & Film Club | PBS](<a href=“http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/bookclub/index.html]Masterpiece”>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/bookclub/index.html) including a guide for *Hound of the Baskervilles<a href=“I%20know%20…%20I%20got%20carried%20away%20here.”>/i</a>

<ol>
<li>Wide Sargasso Sea/Jane Eyre Two classics, one being a Gothic mystery and with an NC-17 movie to go along - really we can’t go wrong here. Another strong #1 … oops, #2 … for the moment. </li>
<li>*Salmon Fishing in the Yemen<a href=“and%20I’ll%20see%20the%20movie%20on%20DVD”>/i</a> with The Expats and Sister falling right alongside each other.</li>
</ol>

I am almost finished with Sister and like it but it didn’t take long to read … though a good mystery thriller with discussion potential. (I liked it better than Before I Go to Sleep.) I’m thinking that Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and The Expats will both be quick reads like Sister … so … that’s the reason they’re all third on my list … for time being.

Actually I’ll read and be happy with any book chosen. I value everyone’s input. Mary: I trust your final decision. (What does your list look like?)

ignatius · June 18, 2012, 10:26am

Re NJTM and Mary’s posts (while I tangled with my list).

In one Overheard Conversation:

Miss Lasqueti being the “she” without doubt.

NJTheatreMOM · June 18, 2012, 10:31am

I just reread an old review of Ondaatje’s “Anil’s Ghost” from the May 15, 2000 “New Yorker,” written by the late John Updike. (I had found it in an actual copy of the magazine at some point in the past and set it aside and forgotten about it.) It contains some comments that might be relevant to this discussion:

Updike says that one of the ruling images of “Anil’s Ghost” is “the painting of the eyes of a statue of Buddha, which the painter must do while looking in a mirror held by an assistant, since the eyes are the fuse that gives the statue its life as a holy god.”

Updike goes on to comment:

“Ondaatje is better at showing withheld emotions than declared ones; like Joan Didion, another laconic, lapidary exponent of the high hugger-mugger, he lets a glancing indirection convey the unseen weight of a world of sinister secrets.”

"‘The English Patient’ was praised as ‘an exquisite ballet that takes place in the dark.’ ‘Anil’s Ghost’ feels overchoreographed."

The high hugger-mugger, lol! Whatever that means…

John Updike died two years before “The Cat’s Table” was published. I wonder what he would have thought of it?

SouthJerseyChessMom · June 18, 2012, 10:32am

^ ** Ignatius ** really glad you brought up Miss Lasqueti’s first name, and the possibility of her “being the blind Perara”.

Do you remember when the Perara name was first described, something about an “i” being dropped ?

ignatius · June 18, 2012, 10:32am

After briefly wondering if Miss Lasqueti was the plainsclothes officer, I figured she couldn’t be the “blind Perera” because her name Perinetta does have that “i” in it. Still …

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The Cats Table June CC Book Club Selection