Changsho

Garlic and Sapphires Recap

Garlic and Sapphires Meeting

Tuesday June 14 Changsho

In attendance were Jen, Beth, Donna Manda, Anne, Rachel and Paula

It was a sort of a weird day. The fifty degree temperature drop threw everyone off and there were paratroopers landing in Harvard Square.

We were seated way, way back in the restaurant which was totally empty except for another group of rowdy women who were breast cancer survivors. Of course they seated us right next to each other. It was weird with just the two groups back there. It’s like the management thought breast cancer and librarianism were diseases that could spread to other customers.

This was Jen’s last book club meeting. I don’t like emoticons but in this instance I feel I must use one to express my feelings :(

At least Jen will still be with us in cyberspace.

Manda was back for her first post baby meeting and we were glad she could make it. We are eagerly awaiting the day that Sabrina starts to read because we really would like some more book club memebers.

We gave Jen her going away gift and then Anne got some presents for her birthday and then we ordered drinks and then we ordered food and then drinks came and then food came and we started to eat and then we remembered that we still had to talk about the book.

So one of these times I really going to have to take notes because all I remember is what I said and I remember what Rachel said because we just talked about it again yesterday. This isn’t going to be very comprehensive and I apologize for leaving out everyone’s comments.

I had rather strong negative feelings about the book so I started with the comment that I didn’t really believe most the things the author wrote about. It started with the very first incident in the book, the woman who talks to her on the plane and knows who she is. From there on it’s a slippery slope, I questioned everything. I don’t for a second believe anything she said about her interview at the New York Times. Others felt the same way, but maybe not so strongly as me. No one believed her story about following the “invisible woman”. Rachel was disgusted by her recipes because they all contained too much meat. I though they just seemed wicked hard. Rachel also though her reasons for quitting as a critic were totally bogus - she was getting carried away with her characters and she wanted to get back to her hippies roots. Rachel though that was bologna. Anne thought she had a drinking problem because of tall the wine she drank. But I think it was one of her characters that had the drinking problem. I think it was Jen who said it was redundant to read the review at the end of each chapter, but Rachel liked reading them. Others asked if she really needed to don the disguises and people generally felt that back then, she probably did, it was important to see what it was like for regular people to visit the restaurants she was recommending. Despite all the problems I had with her use of fiction in a nonfiction book, I still enjoyed reading it and got the sense that everyone enjoyed it too. I finished it quickly and I totally believed her reviews of the food were 100 percent honest and on target. I believed her when she was talking about food and taste, but everything else was questionable. I think I really wanted to believe everything she said because she made it all seem so magical.

Beth

Next book... Valperga

For our next read, Donna has chosen Valperga, or, The Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

Garlic and Sapphires - my last bookclub dinner

Book: Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl
Date: Tuesday, June 14th, 2005
Location: Changsho Chinese Cuisine in Cambridge, MA

I will leave others to comment more thoroughly on our discussion. I just wanted to post to say what a lovely time I had at my last book club discussion. While I intend to keep up with the readings and share my thoughts, it won't be the same. I'll miss all of the meals, especially the ice cream. And I'll certainly miss all of you. If bookclub would like to take a field trip, I'd be happy to host in Iowa. xoxo, Jen