Dear Bookclub,
Cobb salad on Terry's patio far surpassed the Veranda-emulated luncheon she had in mind. Treated to Terry's thoughtful and delicious afternoon, we appreciated every aspect, being sure to stretch the 'discussion' to a nice four-hour span. Truly, we did have three books to discuss. With a quick mention of "The Night Watchman", (barely given its due in June's sparsely attended meeting), tagging up to "Better to Have Gone" and finally, taking a deeper delve into our current selection, Andrea Yaryura Clark's "On a Night of a Thousand Stars", we discussed, paving the way for true catching-up.
Clark's novel, inspired by her generation of Argentinian youth, coming of age during the country's turmoil of hushed atrocities, gave us pause in our feeble understanding of the country's political upheaval of that time. The stories of the 'disappeared' during the military dictatorship of the 1970's became the foundation for Clark's story. Please check out this piece from Literary Hub about the author's experience writing the novel:
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| Madres de Plaza de Mayo |
https://lithub.com/those-who-were-left-behind-by-argentinas-dirty-war/
We appreciated the enlightenment about the "Dirty War" and the novel's vehicle, an entangled, dare I say 'melodrama', gave a good ride.
For further enlightenment, here is a list of Dirty War films:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Dirty_War_films
Terry's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"Count the Ways" Joyce Maynard
"Horse" Geraldine Brooks *chosen
"Lessons in Chemistry" Bonnie Garmus
Up next:
Happy reading!
LK
