'A Lighter Read Considering the Subject Matter'
.... The book we read this month was called The Book Thief. It tells a tale of a small girl (Liesel) living through Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Liesel is adopted and her adoptive family are poor. Her family conceal a Jew - the Nazis never discover this. However, in order to spare the family the consequences of possible discovery, he chooses to leave the house and is later observed and apprehended by the Nazis. Liesel is a prolific reader 'stealing' books from the wife of a local dignitary who, in fact, is facilitating her taking the books.
.... Whilst the book does chronicle some of the fear arising through connection with Jews during this period, it does not dwell upon that fear or indeed upon the consequences of the Nazis finding a German family harbouring a Jew. We felt that this was a good thing as these issues are well trodden. The book did deal well with Liesel's relationships, most particularly with her adopted father. It also dealt well with her relationship with the Jew who was concealed in the family home.
.... However, we felt that the book, whilst atempting to avoid sensationalism, did also avoid some of the emotion which could have been recounted by the tale that it was telling. In other words, it was a fine line between rehearsing facts and emotions well recounted by others and leaving the reader unmoved. We did not feel that this fine line was particularly well dealt with.
.... The book is written through the eyes of 'Death'. We did not think that the fact that it was written through the eyes of 'Death' either added to the story or explained it. We felt that the story was, in fact, a wasted opportunity. Having said that, the whole group thought that it was an enjoyable read.
.... One of our group having read the book also went to see the film which had been running at the cinema only weeks before the book was chosen. The film was very long and very true to the book. The emotions and relationships were more obvious on screen, but the comments noted above about the consequences was also skirted over in the film, resulting in a good film but with little depth.
* Photo from Trip Advisor showing example of food at Vallum. Trip Advisor showing 3.5 stars!
Did we just have an unlucky night? Let us know if you have experienced inconsistencies at this
restuarant.
.... We went to The Vallum for dinner, no to be confused with the farm and coffee shop. It was not a very expensive restaurant, nor was it cheap. The food, however, was very disappointing indeed!
One of the dishes involved leeks which were cut to resemble spaghetti. Unfortunately, they were
fibrous and chewy and after a choking episode were pushed to one side with the non-crunchie crackling on the belly pork. Although the fish, from the fish and chips, was served, as requested, without skin, it too was disappointing when compared with some of the better Fish and Chip Restaurants in Northumberland - Seahouses and North Shields being a perfect example. The vegetarian option also fell short as the risotto was swimming in oil and wasn't pleasant to eat. Although this is a modern building with excellent access, especially for the disabled, this, again, was dampened as the ramp was impeded by plant pots and the doorway by other obstacles. As this was our first visit here, we may have just had an unluckly night. I'm sure we will give it another go to give it a chance to redeem itself. Afterall, we are very hard to please.
.... Our Next book is revisiting Russian Literature coupled with revisiting mental issues. Join us in a new updated version and, soon to be movie, of ....
THE DOUBLE by FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
.... Join us next month to explore our views and check out the movie!!!
