Simply loved this little book!

This book was okay. It did not help me as a reader that all of the characters are so thoroughly unlikable (and unbelievable). The author threw around a lot of names and quotations to ensure we know she is well read. One of my two book clubs discussed it today and no one liked the book or the characters in it. Maybe some of the problem is due to the translation, but that can't explain everything. In any event, we had lots to talk about and a very good discussion of a book no one liked. At least it was a short, quick read.

Some points to discuss:

From the "romantic" hero the Man in the Wing Chair (he is never identified by name):

"I think it’s pretty easy to identify what’s aimed at women; just check the sex of the author. It’s strange that men mostly write for both sexes, but women write for women. With a few honorable exceptions, of course." (p. 167)

Later he adds:

"Nowadays women’s writing has lost its capacity to make us change our gaze, look at things in a different way. When I read a novel by a woman I get the impression that the author is doing nothing more than looking at herself." (p. 170)

A member of the selection panel for the local schoolteacher says:

"Eugenia Mott is a simple, extremely simple teacher because what San Ireneo wants for its children is exactly that: a teacher without intellectual aspirations. ... If they hired a teacher bursting with theories on education, sociology, child psychology, and all those other modern sciences, they’d be letting the fox into the henhouse." (pp. 93-94)

The local Feminist League considers it one of their duties to find Miss Prim a husband. (See pp. 56-57.)

If you start it and don't like it, bail. It doesn't get any better or different as the book goes.

I am confused.

Charming. Lovely. Inspirational. Divine. Old-fashioned. But truthfully, indescribable.

It speaks to you if you let it.

I wanted to like this one; seems everyone raves about it. But I think it was just over my head. I found it very cerebral, for a novel, full of of references in literature, history, and philosophy that I simply didn't understand. The characters were intriguing but not nearly as fleshed out as I wanted them to be. The book ended with way more questions than answers. Overall, it was vaguely dissatisfying.

A delightful, light read. I really enjoyed the developing relationships and the idealistic little town the story takes place in. Really good for a summer read!

I really wanted to like this, but just couldn't quite get there. I love many of the ideas put forth, but as a novel it comes off as preachy. Poetic knowledge is beautiful and it would be beautiful to live in a place like San Ireneo, which is why I really wanted to love this book. The imagery is what gives it 2 stars instead of 1.

A surprisingly deeply philosophical (and theological) novel. C.S. Lewis meets Chocolat. The characters are quirky, the village unique, and the discussions of literature and books are deeper than they look.