The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: US fiction
If I Survive You – Jonathan Escoffery
READ FOR BOOKERTHON A series of linked stories about a Jamaican family in Miami, centered around younger son Trelawny and his determination to survive racism, financial woes and Hurricane Andrew. ● I am privileged in that I have generally always had a pretty strong sense… Continue Reading “If I Survive You – Jonathan Escoffery”
The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Suzy Anders, a white man living in a fictional town, wakes one morning to discover his skin has turned brown. Confused and ashamed, he experiences change in the attitudes of the people in his family and community. Yet he is… Continue Reading “The Last White Man – Mohsin Hamid”
Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver
READ FOR WOMEN’S PRIZE Demon Copperhead is a book about institutional poverty and is a modern retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield. Set in the Appalachias it tells the story of a young boy caught up in the system, for whom life is a mountain… Continue Reading “Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver”
The Swimmers – Julia Otsuka
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel The Swimmers is about Alice, a Japanese American woman in the early stages of dementia. She swims daily but when a crack appears in the pool (ie in her memory) she has to stop swimming and move to a… Continue Reading “The Swimmers – Julia Otsuka”
The Color Purple – Alice Walker
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jo The lives of two African-American sisters growing up in rural Georgia in the early to mid 20th Century are detailed in The Color Purple. Celie is raped by her stepfather and bears two children to him who are sent… Continue Reading “The Color Purple – Alice Walker”
Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Writer Lucy Barton is asked by her ex-husband William to join him on a journey to investigate a recently uncovered family secret. A story about Lucy and William’s ever changing relationship as much as it is about the family secret. Set… Continue Reading “Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout”
The Trees – Percival Everett
READ FOR BOOKERTHON In Money, Mississippi white folk suddenly start turning up dead, savagely beaten and with a black man’s body present, cradling the dead’s severed testicles. A satirical look at the US’s grim history of racial violence. ❝ The Trees is set in… Continue Reading “The Trees – Percival Everett”
All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Jodie During the occupation of Paris a young girl named Marie-Laure loses her sight and relies on a miniature model of the city built by her father to navigate the streets. Motherless, she and her father end up fleeing to… Continue Reading “All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr”
Crossroads – Jonathan Franzen
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Suzy The Hilderbrandts are a clery family from New Prospect, Illinois. The minister father heads a youth group named Crossroads, yet this reference also pertains to the members of the Hilderbrandt family, who are all in a quandary of sorts… Continue Reading “Crossroads – Jonathan Franzen”
Sophie’s Choice – William Styron
READ FOR BOOKCLUBChosen by Rachel An aspiring novelist is captivated by a Holocaust survivor and her unpredictable boyfriend Stingo is a Southern young man aspiring to be a novelist and living off the income from his grandmother’s controversial sale of slaves many years prior.… Continue Reading “Sophie’s Choice – William Styron”
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