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The Schedule for July through Dec. 2025
By Lynn · 1 post · 41 views
By Lynn · 1 post · 41 views
last updated Jun 20, 2025 08:37AM
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Schedule for July - December 2012
By Sherry , Doyenne · 5 posts · 178 views
By Sherry , Doyenne · 5 posts · 178 views
last updated Sep 03, 2012 11:36AM
What I'm Reading - November 2012
By Mary Anne · 228 posts · 184 views
last updated Nov 28, 2012 07:48PM
What Members Thought
A great example of why not to choose books based on the reviews - most people have been really ambivalent about it, and I think I only decided to read it today because it was the only book from the Orange Prize shortlist immediately available to me, and the prize gets announced tomorrow.
This book gutted me. I'm not sure I have ever read a more realistic portrayal of the inner journey of guilt, and of how we retell stories of our own lives to ourselves. There were also moments of humor that rang ...more
This book gutted me. I'm not sure I have ever read a more realistic portrayal of the inner journey of guilt, and of how we retell stories of our own lives to ourselves. There were also moments of humor that rang ...more
Think is the operative word here, the lack of it. Gina and Sean seem to go through life, including their adulterous affair and Sean’s disturbed daughter, with no reflection on the consequences of their actions. Sure, it seems like reflection, as Gina tells the story, but she never gets deeper than a microtome. The ending, or lack of it brought me up short. Left me wanting to say, okay, nice writing, but what’s the point?
Representing the Celtic Tiger economy is an interesting angle. Finances are a strong thread through the novel, the finances surrounding Gina and Connor’s new house (shagging at 5.3 percent); taking out a car loan and then using the money to get married; basing the decision to have or not have children on finances.
What also strikes me about this story is how it travels through a group of women – Joan, Fiona, Gina, Aileen, and Evie. I agree Carol that Joan comes across as shallow and that this has ...more
What also strikes me about this story is how it travels through a group of women – Joan, Fiona, Gina, Aileen, and Evie. I agree Carol that Joan comes across as shallow and that this has ...more
This is my third Enright and while I enjoyed The Gathering, the other two have been meh.
I listened to this on Hoopla, and the narrator had an Irish accent that very much placed the story, but was also very clear.
The story centers on Gina, the narrator, who tells the story in first person. Much of it is very stream-of-consciousness style, as she narrates her relationships with her husband (Conner), the man she leaves him for (Sean), and Sean's daughter Evie. There are other characters--her siste ...more
I listened to this on Hoopla, and the narrator had an Irish accent that very much placed the story, but was also very clear.
The story centers on Gina, the narrator, who tells the story in first person. Much of it is very stream-of-consciousness style, as she narrates her relationships with her husband (Conner), the man she leaves him for (Sean), and Sean's daughter Evie. There are other characters--her siste ...more
The plot of this book is upsetting. Two married people having an affair and a child who is caught in the middle begins and ends the story. So the woman, who is not the child's mother, indeed has no children of her own, understands on some level the seriousness of what she is doing, but she can't seem to help herself. The writing is extraordinary. I love the way Enright writes. She gets at the complicated truth of what it means to be human and in relationship with other flawed and amazing humans.
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I must agree with Bettie after trying to get through the plot of this book but I just gave up. I watched her presentation about The Gathering at the FLIP in Paraty and also I didn't get any special interest for her work. I cannot understand how she got a Booker Prize.
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Self consciously literary with beautifully constructed prose about a sordid affair amidst a collection of incredibly unlikable people.
3.5, really.
Oct 22, 2011
Dottie
marked it as buy-to-read
Nov 09, 2011
Sara
marked it as to-read
Mar 23, 2014
Cheri
rated it
it was amazing
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review of another edition
Shelves:
memoir,
women-authors
Jun 19, 2014
Kai Coates
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
s14-bookish-challenge
