Book Club Read: Open House
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We all have our comfy reads. These include the authors we love and are a must buy. I revisit my favorite books over and over again. But I must be careful not to stay in the familiar. What happens when I read something different?
It’s 2022. Book clubs have had a resurgence, but I’ve always been afraid of them. Women’s fiction isn’t my thing. General fiction's a no. I like genre stuff. My main habits are Romance, Murder or Science Fiction and Fantasy books. Besides the books, there is the in-person thing. Getting together for finger foods and wine sounds horrific.
The Scribbler box I get every month often has books I would never find myself. It’s a smattering. Fiction, Non Fiction, and genre fiction all show up in the box. There are a few books I skipped. And that's ok. Not every book is for all humankind. One of my favorite finds was Scarlet Odyssey. Rocked my world a bit. I love when someone writes something so unexpected it changes your world view.
My second book club is from an art and crafts group on Patreon. I need to read the next book before Thursday. Sigh. I’m always behind. There is a zoom call once a month that is fun and upbeat. This month’s book is a children's book. It’s emotionally moving as the author spins adult themes into small sweet bites.
My third book club selections are personal to the group. Maybe it’s someone we always wanted to read. We’ve had a couple of women’s fiction books and I think we did a craft book. We’ve been trying to get together on zoom to hang out and talk book talk.
This month we read Open House by Elizabeth Berg. I tag this one as Women’s Fiction. There is a hint of romance, but it’s not the center of the story. It’s about a woman who finds love and forgiveness for herself as she makes the choice to keep the big house after a divorce. She’s forced to take in lodgers. This rotating roster of characters teach all of us some lessons in being humans.
All of us liked it. That isn’t always the case. Each of us found parts we thought spoke to us. We didn’t all pick the same passages either. The book stirred something deep for each reader.
It’s written in the first person. Each chapter is a few scenes long. Each scene is curated to move you through the story. I’m not sure how a young person would feel about the book. It’s often exhausting to take in. As if my body is doing the work our protagonist is doing. That’s how well Elizabeth Berg writes. You’re living the story in first person. Brilliant.
There was one lodger I thought was too over the top, but three people told me they didn’t think it was creepy. Interesting, right? What I get from others reading my work is I can never count on the reader having the experiences I did in the story. While I’m hopeful I have subtext, I'm not handling the arc of a recent divorcee who has a passion for Tiffany jewelry.
One of my favorite quotes in the book.
“When we were roommates in college, Rita had once asked, extremely gently, if my mother was mentally retarded. “No,” I said. “Just… Southern.” That was the only explanation I could come up with at the time.”
I laughed until my belly hurt, and I snorted in my breath too fast. I get southern mother's. A breed of their own.
The biggest takeaway I took from this book is wrapping in an emotional setting. I’ve never been one for decorations in writing. My imagination can picture a tree. I don’t need to know the color of every single leaf dangling from it branches. I’ve got a writer friend for whom setting is another character. It’s so ingrained in the story that the work would be left unreadable without the place and time.
Photo by Ricardo Esquivel from Pexels
But here in this book, the setting is draped with emotion. The house is what she’s keeping from her marriage. She is always in the rooms where her intact family had made so many memories. It’s in her face. I’m not sure I’ve ever noticed this in other works. I’m sure it’s there. This just happened to be the book where I noticed. She walks among the ghosts of the past with every room she visits.
Reading is a required duty if I want to write. Learning how other authors do it inspires me to try out new narratives. Plus, reading is fun.
Read stuff that isn’t in your wheelhouse. Pick a type of book you’d never pick up. Ask a friend or maybe a lady on the plane what’s she reading. Step outside your comfort zone. Be brave and dive in. There are so many nuggets waiting for you to find them.
What book have you read that surprised you?
