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Book Club

Our friendly Book Club meets on the third Tuesday of the month in the Library at 3.30pm. We welcome anyone who enjoys reading and likes
talking about books. We don't do 'lit crit' but we discuss why we like/didn't like the book choice. We exchange tips on recent reads that we think others might enjoy, and then wander on to a wide range of subjects. You don't have to buy the books – we take turns to choose a book from a Cambridgeshire Libraries multi-copy list. If you are interested in joining us, send a request to Sally via info@haddenhamlibrarycambs.co.uk or give your contact details to a Library Volunteer.

 

Upcoming read:

Next month's read ‘In a Blink of an Eye’ by Jo Callaghan will be discussed on Tuesday 18th November. All ages and genders are welcome, and anyone born after 1980 would be greatly appreciated for their new perspectives! As always, we can provide a copy of the book, so no need to buy one.

 

To join us, speak to a Library volunteer, or drop a line to info@haddenhamlibrarycambs.co.uk.

We met to discuss 'The Talented Mr. Ripley', a 1955 psychological thriller by Patricia Highsmith.

 

The central character, Tom Ripley, evoked liking, disgust, sneaky admiration, sympathy and distaste. We were appalled by his amoral outlook and yet often we wanted him to succeed. Whatever we felt, we had to keep turning the pages to find out what happened and whether he got his comeuppance in the end.

 

We admired the author’s ability to draw a character who somehow made the reader complicit in his moral ambiguity, although we suspected that she herself was not a very likeable person and that perhaps in Ripley she was reflecting her own moral stance and desire to ‘get away with it’.

 

We also admired her writing and ability to draw vivid images of cities and buildings in just a few words, making many of us yearn to visit Italy some time soon.

 

The author wrote four more books around Ripley. A few of us wanted to read on to find out what happened next, and whether anyone ever managed to see him for what he was. Others thought one book was quite enough.

 

Some of us remembered enjoying the 1999 film with Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow but suspected that it was rather different from the book. One of us tried to watch the film after reading the book and gave up.

 

Eight enjoyed the book (some reluctantly!) and there was only 1 thumb down.

 

We will be meeting on Tuesday 20 February to discuss ‘Balancing Act’ by Joanna Trollope which is about the pressure of combining family and business. You are very welcome to join us!