AUGUST BOOK

Our book for August, coincidentally enough, is Augustus by John Williams (link).  The author of Stoner is back for a return engagement.  Once again, we'll meet at the Tap & Barrel Shipyards location in North Vancouver. (See previous month's post for location details.)  A cheery invite to all interested parties to join us this Tuesday evening (Aug 3) for books and beer at the usual 7pm start time.  Hail Caesar!

In Augustus, his third great novel, John Williams took  on an entirely new challenge, a historical narrative set in classical Rome, exploring the life of the founder of the Roman Empire. To tell the story, Williams turned to the epistolary novel, a genre that was new to him, transforming and transcending it just as he did the western in Butcher's Crossing and the campus novel in Stoner. Augustus is the final triumph of a writer who has come to be recognized around the world as an American master.

 

JULY BOOK

Our book for July is American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins (link).  We're finally meeting up in person again:  it's back to the  Tap & Barrel Shipyards location in North Vancouver (https://www.tapandbarrel.com/locations/).  The address is Tap & Barrel Shipyards, 8 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver (i.e. the foot of Lonsdale Avenue, a short walk from the Seabus terminal).  The patio is huge and with any luck a sea breeze should provide relief from the heat.  So join the fun this Tuesday evening (July 6) as we begin a cautious return to some semblance of normality.  The usual 7pm start time applies and all and sundry are welcome.

Lydia Quixano Pérez runs a bookstore in Acapulco, Mexico, where she lives with her husband, Sebastián, who is a journalist, and their son, Luca. When a man starts visiting her store, buying books and striking up a friendship, she has no idea initially that he will be responsible for turning her life upside down. But Lydia and Luca will have to flee Acapulco, setting them on a journey they will share with countless other Central and South Americans-turned migrants. There is very little I can say about this novel that hasn't already been said, and it hasn't even been published yet. The buzz has been building early, and when it does go on sale it will likely be one of the most talked about (and widely read) books of the year. From the colossal opening chapter to the epilogue, American Dirt is a novel of crisp writing, urgent pacing, and remarkable empathy. It deserves the attention of a large audience. —Chris Schluep, Amazon Book Review