Book Club Notes

Like a lot of women, I belong to a book club. All of us read the same book and meet to discuss it once a month. My group meets at the library on the fourth Thursday of every month.

This is typical. My sister-in-law Mary is in another group that meets in homes in her neighborhood. Before I moved to Texas, I was in a similar group in New Mexico. My friend in Connecticut is in a similar group. All of us also seem to be reading similar books.

Last month my group read "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. When our group met, I was the only one of twelve who was not enthusiastic about this novel. I felt Ms. Gruen, who had never been to a circus, relied too much on her "research" and did not present a true picture of circus life. The others said that did not matter. "It is a good story, and that is all that is important."

O. K. a good story.

The argument can be made that millions of American women are deluded by romance novels, in which the heroine is always beautiful and where she is always rescued by a handsome hero. In real life there are few heroes to "save" women; most of us have to (1) settle for ordinary men, and (2) take care of ourselves.

An aside: I never was beautiful, and when I was 58 years old, I was rescued from extreme poverty by a wonderful man: short, bald, and 69 years old. For me it was a fairy tale come true -- when I was at an age when I least expected it. I know dozens of women who were not so lucky.

My idea of a good novel is one that tells truths that are more than just "facts." Universal truths.

Fiction can be dangerous is causes readers to believe in ideas or philosphies which are not true. An example: Ann Ryn's "Atlas Shrugged". An economic position that is deplored by anyone who understands economics. Her followers are typical of the C.E.O.'s and Wall Street brokers who lead our country into the present financial chaos.

Then there is John McCain. When asked to name is heroes, the top of his list was Robert Jordan, the FICTIONAL hero of Hemingway's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." A man who never existed! The election is over, and now I don't have to worry about a president who might lead us into war through a philosophy of "better to die than admit you might be wrong." That might have lead us into another Iraq War.

The lesson, my children: Read those good stories, but read CRITICALLY. Ask yourself, "Is what this writer is saying really true to REAL life?"