It was a wide-ranging and fast moving book group meeting, starting off with a crazy discussion about the merits of cauliflower steaks and whether any vegetable is better boiled than baked. Yes, really …
The book discussion moved amongst a number of themes that were explored in the book. A layered story of the protagonist’s descent into addiction and in spite of the people around him who liked him and tried to help, he was really unable to stop or even check the rate of descent.
There was also a lot of commentary about social strata and how that impacted peoples’ relationships. The African man who went to live in France with his white wife and how he was treated there. He talks of going to a dinner party where the hosts query whether he’s from the French Congo or the Belgian Congo, as if the nationality of the colonists defines who he is.
I think people liked the book. There were a lot of funny moments in it (like the pissing competition) which were really nicely drawn and involving. The “bicycle chicken” (bbq’ed) and “TV chicken” (microwaved) bought from the street vendor with manioc gave a sense of life in a small African town.
The discussion then moved onto quite a long talk between everybody about Trump, covid, conspiracy theories and the US voting system. It was great having Matt along because he has a lot of first-hand experience there.
We managed to decide the next book relatively smartly thanks to Mark coming along with a book he though would be a good choice and which we ultimately decided to read next. There were a couple of alternatives thrown up though, Palace of Dreams by Ishmael Kadare, and Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.
See you on November 4 for our next meeting!
