Book Club

Sun., Oct. 10, 1999

Name: Having Our Say

City: Coeur d’Alene

Group history: A group of 12-14 women have been meeting once a month since 1993. Over that time, they have read and discussed more than 66 books.

Book reviewed: “Housekeeping” (Bantam, 219 pages, $6.50 paper) by Marilynne Robinson.

Group representative: Joy Fitzpatrick.

The review: Fitzpatrick writes: “Ruth and her sister Lucille are abandoned in Fingerbone, Idaho, (fictionally identical to the town of Sandpoint) when their mother hurls herself into the same glacial lake that claimed their grandfather. They are left to be raised by their grandmother, two maiden aunts from Spokane, and finally their unstable Aunt Sylvie. The story revolves around the girls’ struggle to find their place in this world of loss, death, hardship and humor. Some members of the group loved the language and imagery. Others thought it got in the way of the story. But after `having our say,’ most of us agreed it was an an engaging book.”

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