Where Fiction Meets Friction
Book Club Drama is back. Last month, Gloria missed her own yurt meeting after extending her travels. So the group regrouped at Il Pazzo to discuss Whalefall … and the idea of hiring a facilitator.
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Subject: This Month’s Book—The Correspondent
From: Barb (Host)
To: Prose & Cons Book Club
Date: Tuesday, 8:02 a.m.
Hi everyone,
Can’t wait to discuss The Correspondent by Virginia Evans on Thursday. I contacted all my friends in book clubs, and 90% are reading it. The NYT called it “a meditation on memory, aging, and the quiet heroism of correspondence.”
See you Thursday the 14th at 6:30 p.m. Let me know if you can make it.
From: Melissa
Date: Tuesday, 8:11 a.m.
LOVING it. So intimate. I feel like I’m snooping in someone’s emotional junk drawer.
From: Janet
Date: Tuesday, 8:19 a.m.
Same. Beautiful writing. Also a reminder that we used to write actual letters besides LOL and SMH.
From: Diane
Date: Tuesday, 8:27 a.m.
Sounds like it won’t be our best discussion because we all agree. I didn’t want it to end.
From: Gloria
Date: Tuesday, 8:34 a.m.
I finished it on a plane and had to use a biscotti wrapper to wipe my tears.
From: Gail
Date: Tuesday, 8:47 a.m.
Quick logistical issue: I may need to change the date.
From: Barb
Date: Tuesday, 9:44 a.m.
Oh?
From: Gail
Date: Tuesday, 10:52 a.m.
I’ve been exposed to what may be a new strain of bird flu.
Before everyone panics, it’s probably fine, but my acupuncturist says we should be vigilant. I have a second-opinion Zoom with a nutritionist in Seoul that night. She’s developed a protocol involving fermented duck broth and ginseng.
So can we move the meeting?
From: Diane
Date: Tuesday, 10:54 a.m.
Respectfully, we’ve had a no-date-changes policy for decades. The rule was established in 1997 after the Zadie Smith incident and the Pilates conflict.
From: Abby
Date: Tuesday, 3:00 p.m.
Aw, give Gail a break. She’s had a rough time. Maybe this once we can find another night?
From: Barb
Date: Tuesday, 4:16 p.m.
Fine with me. I’m feeling empathetic after reading this book. How about next Tuesday?
From: Janet
Date: Tuesday, 6:38 p.m.
No go for me. My grandson has an interpretive ukulele recital.
From: Melissa
Date: Tuesday, 9:25 p.m.
Wednesday pottery glazing.
From: Laurie
Date: Tuesday, 9:27 p.m.
And that’s when my sister arrives with her new emotional support schnoodle.
From: Diane
Date: Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.
Saturday I’m meeting with my organizer and re-alphabetizing the pantry. Then a gallery opening, and my Bad Bunny salsa lesson.
From: Janet
Date: Wednesday, 9:40 a.m.
Okay, what about Sunday at 8:30 p.m.? Just heavy hors d’oeuvres and dessert. No dinner pressure.
From: Barb
Date: Wednesday, 9:44 a.m.
8:30 p.m. feels late.
From: Melissa
Date: Wednesday, 2:00 p.m.
We have game night with cousins until 8:30ish, so 9:00 works for me.
From: Gail
Date: Wednesday, 2:48 p.m.
Perfect. Thanks dear book club pals.
From: Diane
Date: Wednesday, 2:40 p.m.
I’ll attend but I object philosophically.
Subject: Last Night’s Rare Sunday Meeting
From: Barb
Date: Monday, 8:06 a.m.
Thank you all for rallying at the off hour. Glad you liked the manchego and I thought it was a lively conversation.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 8:13 a.m.
I see you left Gail off this chain. I’m still recovering from her 20-minute monologue about avian viral transmission.
From: Abby
Date: Monday, 8:16 a.m.
Also, she said the book made her uncomfortable because she hates reading about aging.
From: Diane
Date: Monday, 8:24 a.m.
Luckily, she left before we discussed the final chapter.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 8:27 a.m.
She said she had her ketamine treatment.
From: Abby
Date: Monday, 8:30 a.m.
Still, the rest of the discussion was next level. Especially when Melissa cried into the olives.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 8:36 a.m.
Those olives were emotional.
From: Janet
Date: Monday, 9:02 a.m.
Quick thought for the group.
Should we … consider whether Gail is still a good fit?
From: Diane
Date: Monday, 9:04 a.m.
I’ve wondered the same. She has missed five meetings in a row for shingles, gas, mold sensitivity, and parasite detox.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 9:08 a.m.
And when she comes, she mostly discusses pathogens.
From: Abby
Date: Monday, 9:17 a.m.
I hate conflict, but I do feel the group energy shifting.
From: Janet
Date: Monday, 9:20 a.m.
Perhaps we wait a month and see how things feel?
From: Diane
Date: Monday, 9:31 a.m.
Agreed. And let’s remember not to include her on this thread.
From: Gloria
Date: Monday, 10:01 a.m.
Honored that y’all are still including me, from Benin, birthplace of voodoo. Of course you know I’m always with you in spirit.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 10:02 a.m.
I guess it’s my turn next month.
The book will be Strangers by Belle Burden. It’s about betrayal and the subtle ways people fail to recognize each other—which feels on theme.
From: Diane
Date: Monday, 10:18 a.m.
Quick clarification: Thursday the 12th, correct? Just want to make sure there’s not another scheduling crisis.
From: Melissa
Date: Monday, 10:20 a.m.
The date is set in stone! And, on another note, apologies to Laurie and Janet, who, as we know, are both currently going through divorces. Hope Strangers isn’t too on the nose.
From: Janet
Date: Monday, 3:12 p.m.
No worries. The title feels accurate.
From: Laurie
Date: Monday, 3:34 p.m.
Seconded. I embrace a book with zero functional marriages.
