Review of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Overall, everyone agreed that they enjoyed the book. Some members felt it the book started slow and was difficult to get into immediately.

What we liked:

-        The book read like a piece of art. The words and details were thoughtful and only added to the book, never did it detract

-        The symbolism added another dimension to the story and gave us more to think about

-        The tension between Griet and Vermeer never crossed the line, it was maintained within an appropriate boundary

-        The author clearly showed the differences between the social classes and the importance of money/wealth

What we didn’t like:

-        We didn’t understand the reason why Vermeer was so insistent on Griet wearing both earrings even though only one would be seen

-        The beginning of the book started out slowly

-        We were a little confused about the significance of Griet hiding her hair. We wondered if that was common in that time period and what hiding your hair meant or what purpose it served

Review of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

I was unable to attend this meeting but other members were able to catch me up on what they discussed. The book was not a favorite for many of the members. I personally struggled reading Catch-22 as well and ended up abandoning it. Below is a recap of what was discussed.

What we liked:

-        The book provided a lot of conversation about the issues presented

What we didn’t like:

-        It was a slow and grueling read that didn’t capture many of the members attention

-        It started off funny but then quickly changed and became very dark

-        Many of us wanted to abandon the book but continued on because it is deemed as a classic

-        Because it is a classic, we questioned what we didn’t see in the book that others did