'Year of Wonders' next Book Club selection
| • | 'Makai' a stirring work |
| • | 'Makai' author answers questions |
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Book Editor
And The Honolulu Advertiser Book Club selection is ... (envelope, please) ... "Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague," by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin Books, paper, $14).
How did the words "novel" and "Black Death" end up in the same sentence? And how could such a book be pleasant to read? Or — mind-boggling notion — inspiring?
But Brooks, a journalist turned fiction writer, succeeds in making this beautiful book both satisfyingly escapist and intelligently uplifting, imagining a story that is built on the bare bones of an actual incident in which an English village voluntarily quarantined itself to stop the spread of plague to its neighbors.
The book, released shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks, was well received by critics but got rather lost in the aftermath. Next week, we'll publish an interview with Brooks, who has some interesting Hawai'i connections.
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Want to join?
Here's how to participate in The Honolulu Advertiser Book Club:
Membership: There is no formal membership. Just read the book and participate in the virtual discussion by sending in your comments and questions.
Our book: "Year of Wonders, A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin, $14)
Reading period: Through Nov. 1.
Next "discussion": Nov. 10.
To participate in the discussion: Write Wanda Adams, Books Editor, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Fax: 525-8055. E-mail: bookclub@honoluluadvertiser.com
Listen: To the "Sandwich Islands Literary Circle" at 9:30 p.m. today, KHPR 88.1 FM, KKUA 90.7 FM Maui, KANO 91.1 FM Hilo; or hear the program online, starting tomorrow at the URL below.
If you have trouble finding the book: Please call Wanda Adams, 535-2412. We want to keep tabs on supply.
To experience the book club online: Visit the.honoluluadvertiser.com/current/il/bookclub.
