Las Cruces Readers Meet the Pulitzer Challenge!

Congratulations to all the Las Cruces readers who participated in our Pulitzer Challenge and many thanks to the amazing librarians at the Thomas Branigan Public Library for hosting the dialogues!

Deming Readers Met the Pulitzer Challenge!

Congratulations to all the Deming readers who participated in our Pulitzer Challenge and many thanks to the Waymaker Christian Bookstore and the amazing librarians at the Marshall Memorial Library for hosting the dialogues!

Gallup Readers Met the Pulitzer Challenge!

Congratulations to all the Gallup readers who participated in our Pulitzer Challenge and many thanks to the amazing librarians at the Octavia Felling Public Library for hosting the dialogues!

Reading The Stories of John Cheever at Donnelly Library, Las Vegas, NM

Donnelly Library’s Pulitzer Prize Challenge reading group has its third meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2016 to discuss The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever.

The list of my (April's) top ten favorite stories so far is below. Brandon said "The Swimmer" is his favorite Cheever story of all time. What stories stood out to you from the collection? Post your favorite stories in the comments below. 

1. Goodbye, My Brother, p. 3-21
2. The Enormous Radio, p. 33-41
3. The Sorrows of Gin, p. 198-209
4. The Day the Pig Fell into the Well, p. 219-235
5. The Five-Forty-Eight, p. 236-247
6. The Housebreaker of Shady Hill, p. 253-269
7. The Country Husband, p. 325-346
8. The Angel of the Bridge, p. 490-497
9. The Geometry of Love, p. 549-602
10. The Swimmer, p. 603-612

Gallup Discussion: Golden Mongooses

This week we discussion The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at Octavia Fellin Library in Gallup, New Mexico.  And before our discussion began there were some important things to clarify about the setting of the story and some of its symbolism.

Unlike other stories we discussed, some of our readers didn't immediately know the background of the Dominican Republic or the characters in the story.  Just reading the story, you learn a lot of more recent Dominican history, but not everyone remembers off the top of their head where the Dominican Republic is or the significance of its location.

The DR is on the island of Hispaniola.  People who know "a little" history might recall that Columbus discovered America in 1492.  The first place he "discovered" was Hispaniola, an island, and on the modern DR side of that island was where the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Americas was built, also making it the location of the first European colony in the Americas.

Notice how I said, "the modern DR side" above.  That's because, unlike most Caribbean nations, the DR has a border with another country.  Reading the story, you might not some passing references to Haitian genocide, derogatory references to Haitians, maybe a mention of looking like "you speak a little French" as a coded insult.  That's right!  The DR borders Haiti, and they have not had a healthy past. 

The DR was a Spanish colony and while they shipped a lot of slaves to the region, it wasn't half as many as were sent to Haiti for French plantations.  Skin color is a big deal in the story, and there's a lot of coded (and not so coded) language related to it.  Dark skin is usually seen as a terrible thing, handsome means white, as noted with Beli's first paramour, Jack Pujols, and when someone suggests you might speak a little French, it suggests you have darker skin, or in other words, you look Haitian.

The Sauron of our story is Rafael Trujillo or El Hefe, and he is portrayed as a pretty terrifying, incredibly evil guy.  I think the book actually gives you plenty to go off of, but I wanted to show a picture of him, because he doesn't look the super villain, child rapist, mass murdering monster that he definitely was... or at least, he doesn't look like I quite expect him to...

he looks...gassier...

Finally, let's talk about the Golden Mongoose in the story.  This is not really based on any bit of history or folklore.  So if your book club is sitting around scratching their heads and saying "What does the mongoose mean?" in deep, philosophical tones, here it is in the words of Junot Diaz, himself:

“My mother got lost when she was young in a coffee plantation (my father used to grow coffee) and she was lost for like three days and everyone thought she died and by the third day they just went and bought fucking—I mean, it shows you the difference, if a child were lost for three days today, we would still have hope, we would still be looking, but in the DR they were like ‘Three days? ’That kid’s fucking dead man’—they went out and bought funeral clothes, they were going to bury this little outfit and then my mother shows up. And my mother tells this story and she was like I had gotten lost and was just desperate and this mongoose came up and was like ‘you lost?’ ‘Well, I’m tired right now but I’ll come back tomorrow and lead you out.’ So he did and my mother arrived home the next day.” - Junot Diaz 

These are just a few things to keep in mind if you ever have a discussion or book club on this fantastic work.  A little background can help a lot when discussing a book, especially one as closely tied to a time and place as this one.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao discussion photos- South Broadway Library

Group Photo

Great discussion

More great discussion

Never a dull moment

Here are some photos from the South Broadway discussion of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao on September 17, 2016. 

Discussion Wrap-Up - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - South Broadway Library

The discussion group met on September 17, 2016, to discuss The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.  The language, specifically the Spanglish, found throughout the book was a hot topic.  Most members believed that it added authenticity to the story and that it was Diaz’s way of portraying the Dominican Republic’s culture in an honest and forthright way. Some members felt that the sheer volume of foreign words and phrases was a little overwhelming and slowed down the reading pace.  One person remarked that they needed a glossary to get through the book.  Another major facet of the book was the idea of fuku, the curse mentioned early in the book.  There were several ideas about what the fuku was and whether or not Oscar’s family would get through it.  The level of suffering and tragedy that the family endures is legion. Each generation had its own trials and each one was literally a matter of life and death.  Each generation loses family members and it seems the next generation is achieved only because one family member survives through harrowing circumstances to procreate.  The group also discussed the way the book handled masculinity in the Dominican culture and Oscar’s struggles to live up to the expectations.  Ultimately, the big question in the book is whether or not Oscar dies a virgin or not.  While the book tells us that he does not, the evidence is self-reported by Oscar and thus, leaves room open for doubt.  The group was split on this issue. Our next book is The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever and we will meet October 22nd at 2:00 pm at the Public Library Albuquerque and Bernalillo County | South Broadway branch.

Now Reading in Gallup

Discussion of Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao will be held on Thursday evening, September 22, at the Octavia Fellin Public Library.

The Beloved Discussion Highlights

Donnelly Library had its first meeting of the Pulitzer Prizes Reading Group on Thursday, September 1, 2016 when we got together to discuss Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Discussion was lively and focused on many different themes. One of the most animated parts of the discussion was whether or not Beloved was a ghost. Reading group participants had different points of view on this issue. Some reading group participants thought she was a ghost, others not, and still others said that they had never thought about the reality of the ghost in the novel. The discussion of the ghost connected with an interesting discussion of how America is haunted by its history of slavery and how Morrison was able to vividly portray the horrors of slavery and its aftermath.

Trauma and recovery was another major topic of discussion. Reading group participants talked about how the characters in Morrison’s novel dealt in different ways with the trauma of their pasts and how they were (and weren’t) able to recover.

The theme of the relationships between mothers and daughters was talked about focusing on the relationship between Sethe and Denver and Sethe and Beloved. The constant presence of past trauma certainly affects the relationships between the generations. Group participants said they felt hopeful for Denver’s future by the end of the novel.

  

Participants also discussed with Dr. Brandon Kempner how the novel fit within the history of American literature, novels about slavery, and Toni Morrison’s place in the canon.

What did you find most interesting about the first meeting’s discussion or about the novel? Please post in the comments below.

First Meeting of the Readng Group

"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz - Final Book Discussion at Branigan Library

Our final book discussion was on August 18.  So sorry to see it come to an end!

The theme of this book is "a hopeful quest, sad love story, a nerd hoping to have a sexual relationship, moving toward his doom". The language used in the book is somewhat different - possibly the language that the author grew up with and language of the culture.  A person may not know the exact meaning of some of the words or phrases used in the book, but gets the jest of what is being said/written.  Junot Diaz puts an insight into the novel.  He delves into the politics of their country/culture and ours.  These things need to be known/studied. 

Several participants in the book discussion commented on how they thought the footnotes were very helpful in understanding certain phrases, sections of the book and the history relating to the culture. 

The novel begins with the narrator's description of the curse, called fake americanus—a curse which was brought over to the islands of Antilles when the Europeans came. Oscar seemed to be the person that was the "victim" of his family's fukú.  Oscar is very polished, speaks in elvish - literary compliment.  He is both heroic and foolish.  He felt that this is what he had to do - his mission.

Oscar struggled with the family dynamics – the personalities of each family member, cultural background, values, and personal or family experiences.

From the start we know that Oscar is going to die - an interesting/clever way to start the book.  What is it that make his life "wondrous"?  The author is in complete control. 

 

Questions for Donnelly Library's Discussion of Plague of Doves

Donnelly Library’s Pulitzer Prize Challenge reading group has its second meeting on Thursday, September 22. Below are a few questions to think about for the upcoming discussion.

Take a look at the questions and please post your own questions or discussion points for this novel in the comments below.

Questions

1. Although there is no ghost in Erdrich’s novel as there is in Morrison’s Beloved, the past haunts the communities of this novel. What events haunt the characters of Plague of Doves?
2. Erdrich uses multiple narrators in this novel. Why do you think she chooses to use changing perspectives? What do the different narrators reveal about the history of the communities in this novel?
3. How does religion and spirituality effect the different characters’ lives?  
4. What is the role of the murder plot in this novel? Can this novel be called a murder mystery? How would you describe this novel?

About the Author: Louise Erdrich

"Louise Erdrich is the author of fifteen novels as well as volumes of poetry, children’s books, short stories, and a memoir of early motherhood. Her novel The Round House won the National Book Award for Fiction. The Plague of Doves won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and her debut novel, Love Medicine, was the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Erdrich has received the Library of Congress Prize in American Fiction, the prestigious PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. She lives in Minnesota with her daughters and is the owner of Birchbark Books, a small independent bookstore." From Harper Collins.