Book Club. All Are Welcome. Reading for End of May: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

[lemon_tree]

I haven't read the Goldfinch, but I'll add it to my list!!

 

[tankel]

Seriously it is a really good book. Like one of the best ones ever. I read it more than a year ago and still think about it all the time.

 

[lemon_tree]

Sweet, thanks for the recommendation! I just requested the ebook from the library and I'm next in line!

 

[BookGeek]

I'm somewhere around page 135, and I'm torn on my feel is so far. I want to know how all of these storylines are going to tie together, or if they are just going to exist in parallel. I also wish the voices would change more. Each paragraph and each character sounds the same to me.

 

[tankel]

I totally agree with you bookgeek. I've noticed the pattern too. How each character has a statement that goes something like "I've mostly made peace with the mistakes I've made" but there there is a lot of explanation about those mistakes and there is no (seemingly) peace made.

 

[writingislove]

What really bothered me is that even with all the characters, it's all supposed to be centered around June...and to me, June was a flat, boring character and I had no sympathy for her because she just didn't feel "real." She bored me half to death.

 

[Whimsical88]

Totally agree ladies. Jun was as interesting as watching grass grow. The had regrets but did nothing about it. Just carry on. It was like you wanted to shake life into them

 

[lemon_tree]

My thoughts:

Spoiler

I agree! There was no change in voice between characters, which really bugged me, and I thought they were all pretty flat and one dimensional. No character arcs or growth, except maybe, barely, Lydia. And some characters' chapters were in first person and some were in third. Why? June was like a ghost, despite being the central character, and we barely heard from her. You're totally right about that, WIL. And some of the narrators were entirely irrelevant. I think the book was a tale of grief and the damage isolation causes, but I don't think it was terribly effective because it mostly just annoyed me.

 

[amyamyamy]

Still haven't made it that far but I'll try to step it up. I would also have given up already except it's the book club! the goldfinch is only my shelf of books I haven't read yet but I've bought it to read there's seriously like 30 books on that shelf. Good ole used bookstores are my downfall!

 

[tankel]

I'm finished. Once again, no rush for anyone. We all have busy lives. I just put on the audiobook and cleaned my house

No seriously, the goldfinch is a great read. Have I said that before?


I have a few questions for the final discussion and I just want to put them here so I don't forget for when we are all finished.

Spoiler

What so you think of how the author portrayed women?

What do you think of how the characters dealt with loss? Was it realistic?

What do you think of June "protecting" Lolly by not telling her about her father. And what do you think about her leaving her daughter to live with her husband when her husband was known to like underage (young) girls?

And how did Luke get back in the house without seeing June in the lawn chairs? (because that seriously bugged the crap out of me)

 

[amyamyamy]

Try as I might I just can't with this one. Consider it abandoned at page 61 and I truly have no idea what the last 60 pages were about

 

[BookGeek]

I finished the book over the weekend. I have some thoughts and opinions here, so I'm going to start with tankel's questions as a jumping off point.

Spoiler

What so you think of how the author portrayed women?
~ Pretty unrealistically, in my opinion. They were all pretty. Different types of pretty, but pretty. Seriously? There weren't any better adjectives to describe how a woman looks? They were all portrayed as "strong" women who just kind of failed to manage their own lives. They were all happier with men in their lives than they were on their own, even when they were treated like dirt by those men. All except Cissy. She was my favorite character. But she still annoyed me in the way she just let things happen to her more often than not, rather than take charge of decisions for her own life. She was very good at taking care of other people, though.

What do you think of how the characters dealt with loss? Was it realistic?
~ I don't know? I personally haven't experienced the types of losses these women dealt with. I haven't been divorced or widowed, I haven't lost a child, I haven't lost a home or a family or a job. I'm not sure whether it's realistic for everyone to just wander through life a bit aimlessly for so long like they all seemed to, though.

What do you think of June "protecting" Lolly by not telling her about her father. And what do you think about her leaving her daughter to live with her husband when her husband was known to like underage (young) girls?
~Personally, I don't call it "protecting" to leave a young girl with a man who routinely beds much younger women without telling her about that side of him. I call that irresponsible. True, the cradle-robbing doesn't necessarily translate to child sexual abuse, but all the same, I can't agree with June's decision here. Lolly was being exposed to sneaky behavior and unhealthy grooming mannerisms whether she realized it or not. I can understand June not wanting to upset Lolly's views of her father, but leaving a young and impressionable girl in that environment was just flat out irresponsible and selfish.

And how did Luke get back in the house without seeing June in the lawn chairs? (because that seriously bugged the crap out of me)
~Good. Frikken. Question. My only guess is that he purposely ignored her because he was still being pissy but wanted to go to bed.

I think starting the book from the POV of Silas, then just not mentioning him again until he started getting all creepy with his stalking of Lydia was kind of a give-away for his involvement in the accident. Not so much the sneaking-in-and-messing-with-the-burners aspect, but the he-knows-more-than-he's-saying-and-people-died-because-he-didn't-act-responsibly kind of way. For me, that was the heart of this book. It was about grieving and isolation, yes, but I saw more common threads of people failing to act responsibly through their lives. Extra-marital affairs, not admitting mistakes soon enough, running away, emotionally abandoning children, it was just everywhere.

Also, finding out Luke was the product of a one-night-stand was a real punch in the gut.

 

[BookGeek]

Has anyone else finished reading this book?

 

[lemon_tree]

I did! :wave:

 

[writingislove]

Im finished, just waiting to answer our questions so far and come up with any new ones until everyone is done.

 

[tankel]

I think everyone is finished because Amy abandoned, right?

 

[Whimsical88]

i finished the book but will have to get back to the questions at a later stage when i can remember the book.

 

[amyamyamy]

Is the book club still a thing or no?

 

[writingislove]

^^^ Bahaha I was just wondering that same thing earlier today...

 

[BookGeek]

I'm still in! Can we pick a less depressing book for the next one, though?