This is where the Book Club chat will happen!

[Charlotte]

Hope you've all found it ok!

Charlotte

[oldfashionedgranny]

Thahnks, Charlotte. From posts on the "New Grannynet Book Club" thread, there are several of us who received the book who are now not able to join in the discussion on Thursday night - so it might be worth your looking at these posts to see what we thought of the book. Several of us were not very enthusiastic, I'm afraid. Speaking for myself, I found it rather contrived, not very well written and I didn't engage with the characters. I'm a keen reader but it was an effort to finish this one.

[GrannyHaggis]

Is there going to be anyone other than me at the discussion on Thursday ?
Won't be much fun on my own !
grannyHaggis

[anneandgraham]

Just to say I have only got third through book as it has not really gripped me, it is rather too Americanised for me - if that makes sense and I cannot really relate to a girl feeling peoples emotions through the food try as I may.

So sorry not finished book will do better next time I hope. I do think it is well written though but just not engaged me and if it hasn`t gripped me yet do not think it will.

interesting to see other peoples opinions.

[Enid]

I'll be logging from about 7.30

[oldfashionedgranny]

Anne - if you found the girl's storythread hard to take on board, you'd have had real problems with her brother's story, as laid out later on - very far-fetched and not at all convincingly written. I have no problem with imaginative storylines as a rule, but they have to be written in such a way that the reader goes along with the idea - and this one didn't do it for me.

[Lorna]

I have read some of your thoughts that have been posted on the forum already. Here is a short summary of them

 Not particularly impressed with the writing
 Strange book
 Did not flow at all
 Never really engaged with the characters
 Isn’t very well written
 Bit of a disappointment all round
 Central idea…was so ridiculously contrived to be total nonsense

What do you think? Is there anyone who actually enjoyed reading it?

[delphina]

With a quick read I felt like all the others that is was written in such manner that became irrating. I hated the 'he said'she said' avoiding using inverted commas. But this afternoon whilst sitting with my sister in law, (who has just come out of hospital) I re-read the last third of the book and found it quite moving. The sense of loss of Rose, a father who could not relate but told her family history, a mother who had taken herself out of reality but still saw the son as more important than Rose, who sacfrified a lot for her family. And the last bit when Joseph made a connection with Rose. The sadness thing is that it was a dysfunctional family. But the chair bit was strange but earlier in the book it was stated that Joseph could see no shape in the world and it was the chair which was real and had a shape and hence he became part of it. Would I read anymore of her work I don't think so.

[GrannyHaggis]

I actually quite enjoyed it though I found it a bit bizarre especially when the brother became the chair. It was almost science fictiony there.

The plot seemed to peter out towards the end as if the author had run out of ideas.

GrannyHaggis

[Lorna]

Hi Delphina

I agree with you but somehow the book has stayed with me. It was so sad! I think that what happened to Rose and how she made here gift work for her is the bit I really liked