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| 'A Flat Dutch Cabbage' * |
Dear Bookclub,
We gleefully gathered at the Grand Colonial in La Jolla to reset between holidays and enjoy each other's company. Glorious king tides thrilled and a full moon beamed. Walks, talks and lots of good food and drink helped. We missed Ginger.
Edna Ferber's "So Big" enchanted. Transcending the century between its publication and our reading, any expectations of being dated vanished. Ginger generously shared her thoughts read by Wanda during our breakfast discussion. We were awed by her input:
Where do I start? First of all the writing was incredible. From the first page I was drawn in to the emotions of Selina and the description of the surroundings. Her Dad instilled an optimism in her that kept her going through her days of struggle and really throughout her life, but she was disappointed by Dirk’s choice of occupation.
My favorites:
She and Dirk lying in straw their night selling vegetables at the market. Looking at the stars in peace like another woman who had lain in the straw with her child 2,000 yrs before.
When Julie asked her security guard why he was surprised that this vegetable peddler could not be her friend..a lesson maybe for all of us
The nights Selina was lonely and sat by the fire entertaining old friends and new, from when Dirk was a baby, her husband, Roelf Poole , and the beautiful cabbages.
It spoke to me of her deep love for her family and friends.
I didn’t like the last chapters about Dirk’s direction in life but I didn’t get a chance to reread the end except she did meet Roelf again.
It was a pleasure to read literature!
Liking the book very much, we all felt the let down of the end of the novel. Understanding the art of an open-ended imaginative technique, a desire for just a little more nagged. Did Dirk get what he 'deserved'? Did Dirk get just what Dirk really wanted? Selina's drive to set Dirk in a direction that she didn't own, stays with me. Edna Ferber's talent and feminist strength put me in a google dive that was excellent.
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She wrote "Show Boat"!!! |
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| Edna Ferber |
Please read this article about Ferber from the Jewish Women's Archive, a wonderful biography that enlightens with statements such as:
"Unhindered by gender in her own ambitions and aware of ways in which her mother had surmounted the trials of her early life, Ferber had little patience with women who allowed themselves to be limited by the constraints of femininity."
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/ferber-edna
No wonder we loved Selina!
The Cabbage Lady above came to me in a John Derian email the last day of our trip:
* https://www.johnderian.com/products/cdp-a-flat-dutch-cabbage-copy-png?_pos=2&_sid=788c4b047&_ss=r
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| Happy Holidays! |
Terrie's suggestions for an upcoming read:
"Buckeye" Patrick Ryan
"Wild Things" Sue Prideaux *chosen
"The Rush" Beth Lewis
Up next:
