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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Will Schwalbe has managed to write a book that not only commemorates his late mothers life, but celebrates it as well. Following her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, they start an informal book club together, hence the title. Throughout the book they read and discuss a large number of books as her treatments take place and her health deteriorates over a couple of years.
Mary Ann Schwalbe comes across as a remarkable woman; she spent time in Afghanistan and Thailand working with refugees and vulnerable people who society had abandoned and sought to bring them small simple pleasures. Not only does she has a big, generous heart, she has insight, sharp political nous and compassion. Whilst the ending is ultimately known, and expected, the way that she grabs hold of life is inspiring. Through the book the pancreatic cancer advances and retreats and she accepts the necessary pain and steady deterioration in health with humility and decorum. She also realises her privileged position, and seeks a political solution to the lack of heath care to these at the very bottom of the American health care system.
Schwalbe wears his emotions on his sleeve. And that is understandable, it is his mother after all. The books that they read together act as a comfort blanket at times; sometimes as a prism revealing their anxieties and fears, and sometimes as a mirror that shows things as they are. The book is punctuated with passages and quotes that has significance at that time. What Mary Ann Schwalbe leaves is a legacy of an immensely strong family unit and she shows an ability to look beyond where you are. The books that her and Will read add punctuation and relief to the end of her life.
Mary Ann Schwalbe comes across as a remarkable woman; she spent time in Afghanistan and Thailand working with refugees and vulnerable people who society had abandoned and sought to bring them small simple pleasures. Not only does she has a big, generous heart, she has insight, sharp political nous and compassion. Whilst the ending is ultimately known, and expected, the way that she grabs hold of life is inspiring. Through the book the pancreatic cancer advances and retreats and she accepts the necessary pain and steady deterioration in health with humility and decorum. She also realises her privileged position, and seeks a political solution to the lack of heath care to these at the very bottom of the American health care system.
Schwalbe wears his emotions on his sleeve. And that is understandable, it is his mother after all. The books that they read together act as a comfort blanket at times; sometimes as a prism revealing their anxieties and fears, and sometimes as a mirror that shows things as they are. The book is punctuated with passages and quotes that has significance at that time. What Mary Ann Schwalbe leaves is a legacy of an immensely strong family unit and she shows an ability to look beyond where you are. The books that her and Will read add punctuation and relief to the end of her life.
A loving, heartwarming tribute to a wonderful mother, a life well lived and the joys and transformative experience of reading.
I really love books about people who love books. It was so engaging to hear how the books mentioned connected the lives of the author and his mother. It was also interesting to see how opinions changed as life circumstances changed. This is also the story of the relation between a mother and her son. It is very sweet to see how he views his mother and the lessons she taught him. I have read many of the books mentioned, and now I want to read many more. A treasure of a book.
This book brought back strong memories of my own mother's struggle with cancer. While she didn't have pancreatic cancer, she did have liver cancer and had to have the stints put in her bile ducts also. The ability of the author and his mother to be able to bond over books was similar to my mother and I bonding over the catalogs and magazines that she liked. I still have a profound sense of loss and sadness when I think about how young she was (61) when she died, and how many things she didn't get to experience.
Did not connect at all with this book or the characters. I had high expectations based on the reviews here and it didn't even come close to what I thought it would be. I really did try to like it though but it just falls flat for me.
Den här boken fick jag som en överraskning från förlaget sommaren 2013. Även om den lockade till läsning redan då så kände jag att den låg lite för nära min egen verklighet för tillfället. Min pappa dog bara ett halvår innan boken dök upp och det kändes lite väl tungt att ge sig på en bok med det här temat. Och så blev den stående där. Tills nu. Läs mer på min blogg
Hard to give a rating on something so deeply personal… my struggle to get through it was probably more a reflection on how I didn’t research enough about how much of this was memoir vs literary criticism in a memoir context—- was hoping for more “book club”
I am sure some people love/will love it. Not the right book at the right time for me
I am sure some people love/will love it. Not the right book at the right time for me
I have loved reading this book, and haven't been able to put it down for the last two days and nights. The author, a former book editor, is part of a highly literate, cultured East Coast family, something out of a novel themselves, all orbiting around their remarkable mother, Mary Anne. The book chronicles her diagnosis and losing battle with pancreatic cancer, and with her son's attempt to make the most of their time left together- by starting a sort of book club for two, reading the same books and discussing them, often during chemotherapy sessions.
He also writes, with great love and respect, of her past and his, of the tedium of doctors appointments and the physical realities of cancer, and of the books that have made up the common language of their close but complex relationship. It is definitely a book lover's book, with an appendix of all the titles mentioned, but is also deeply touching on a personal level. I felt like Will had became a dear friend by the end of the book.
He also writes, with great love and respect, of her past and his, of the tedium of doctors appointments and the physical realities of cancer, and of the books that have made up the common language of their close but complex relationship. It is definitely a book lover's book, with an appendix of all the titles mentioned, but is also deeply touching on a personal level. I felt like Will had became a dear friend by the end of the book.