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| from a Liebeg trade card; Hercules returns Alcestis to Admetus |
Dear Bookclub,
Cheerfully gathering on zoom, a bit of the May-gray/COVID fog touched our group as both Karen and Martha had forgotten to join in at 7 pm and I had zipped through the ending of the book, missing a key element.* Alas, merely small imperfections to the evening as all worked out: Karen connected just as we began to share personal stories (her suggestion as an addition to the meeting); Martha found us as we were wrapping up but enjoyed a longer tête à tête with me; and I gained a new understanding of the book!
Kim kicked off discussion immediately with an exasperated question: "Why???" Why did Theo stir it up? Our examination exploded while we analyzed characters, motivations, and developments of Alex Michaelides' "The Silent Patient". Characters were hard to like but we did like the page-turning and thought-provoking Michaelide's provided. The concept of being shaped as an infant before awareness, residing in a land before memory, i.e. brain development in the context of individualizing:
"the development of our personalities doesn't take place in isolation but in relationship with others - we are shaped and completed by unseen unremembered forces; namely our parents."
And there were characters with broken childhoods in abundance. Alicia's paintings, the references to Euripedes' "Alcestis" and the author's Greek roots are to be noted. This is pretty funny (only a minute and a half)... enjoy:
Alcestis by Euripides "Acting to the Gods" performance at Hydrama Theatre in Hydra, Greece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdpoyXqMP94
My suggestions for an upcoming read:
"Lady in Waiting" Anne Glenconner *chosen
"Why We Sleep" Matthew Walker
"The Guest Book" Sarah Blake
Up next:
FYI:
Happy reading, happy binging!
LK
*Postscript:
Barb just emailed me that she completely forgot about bookclub last Thursday! We missed you! Joining the fog.....
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