State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

State of Wonder: A Novel

I was the only person in book club who didn't like this book. I didn't like it because I disliked the main character, I thought her cowardly and fearful and somewhat pathetic  Nevertheless, she did travel deep into the Amazon jungle, which is something I personally wouldn't do.

The book brings up a few moral topics that can cause a good discussion in a book club. The major one is the age at which women give birth. Another topic was the subject of research and the funding of research, as in who chooses the topics when people do research, the people who do the research or the people who fund it?

One person mentioned the fact that "State of Wonder" is a quote from Shakespeare's The Tempest and that the book is filled with Shakespeare quotes, but not knowing The Tempest, I didn't notice them.

Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck is one of my favorite authors, and I was pleasantly surprised to find Tortilla Flat and realize there's a Steinbeck I hadn't read. So I suggested it for my book club. The book is very short, so we read this one and Travels with Charley in the same month. 

Tortilla Flat is classic Steinbeck, with unusual characters doing some very unconventional things. My favorite part was where someone was given the gift of a vacuum cleaner before she had electricity in her house. Because the vacuum cleaner was a status symbol, she could be seeing running it up and down the rugs in her house every day. You can't make up stories like that, it had to be real and that's why I love Steinbeck so much. 

I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden better than this book, but I still loved the colorful characters living at Tortilla Flat. 

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel

The book was narrated from the dog's point of view, and that in itself made it unusual. The story is that of a race car driver, his wife and child. He draws parallels from life and compares it with the racing circuit. Even if you have no interest in dogs or the racing circuit, then it's a great book to read, as the dog comments on life and feeling to which anyone can relate. 

My son loved the book because it's set in Seattle and he loves Seattle. This just shows that we all have our different reasons for liking or disliking something. Me, I'd have liked the book wherever it was set.