Our current Read With Us book is Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller.
I'll admit that I approached Unsettled Ground with just a bit of trepidation as I found Claire Fuller's Our Endless Numbered Days very unsettling. I needn't have feared; once I had read the first 40 or so pages, I thought the book was difficult to put down. I don't want to say too much about the plot, but the story of 51-year-old twins Jeanie and Julius and their mother Dot is a quiet one, full of buried secrets. The secrets are not the specific focus of the book, but rather why lies were told in the first place and the fallout from them decades later. Fuller uses beautiful language to describe the Seeder family living on the margins in rural poverty, but I did wonder about their lives without bank accounts, tv, the internet, and even electricity. The way that the family lives made it hard for me to place the time frame of this book. There are glimpses of modern life, but it almost felt like the Seeders were living in a previous century. I do know one similar person, but he has a tv and has begrudgingly opened a bank account (a savings account, so he pays his bills by money orders), so I could relate to strongly independent people who just want to live their own secluded and private lives. This is a story about secrets, lies, misfortune, sorrows, how things fall apart, and how some surprising survivals can come out of it all.
This is also a story that cries out for an accompanying playlist, and Claire Fuller thought so, too. You can click here for her Spotify playlist. I didn't discover it until I was done reading the book, but I think it would make some nice background music while you read.
Carole and Kym will also be doing some promotional posts about Unsettled Ground over the next two Tuesdays. We'll discuss the book on September 14th (on our blogs and on Zoom), so hopefully you'll have time to read the book by then. I know several of you have already read it, and some of you are still waiting in a queue at the library. I have several questions about the characters and their motivations that I am anxious to discuss with all of you. I hope you'll Read (and talk about the book) With Us!
I am drumming my fingers impatiently each time I check my place on the waitlist for this book! And thank you for the link to the play list!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun to have a playlist from the author. Not sure I will be reading the book, but I will check out the music once I get home!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the playlist, I didn't know about that! I thought this book was excellent and I couldn't put it down even though I really wanted to savor it.
ReplyDeleteMy place in the library hold list is . . . not moving at all. So I purchased the Kindle version and will start reading soon! I'm happy to have the playlist, and look forward to listening while I read! :-)
ReplyDeleteI will have to check out that playlist! I had similar trouble placing the story in time; I suppose there are some people who don't have phones, internet, etc. still, but I would imagine they're rare and located remotely.
ReplyDeleteI pre-ordered the book before it was published in the US as someone I follow in England loved it and recommended it highly. I KNEW it would be good and I'm so glad it's turned out to be amazing. It's the perfect book for a discussion and I'm looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad y'all chose this book! I binged through Fuller's backlist while I saved this one and learned to look for foreshadowing (it abounds!) Favorite line "It is hard to rewrite your own history." (p. 281) ... and maybe that is foreshadowing for the folks who'll read my comment before they read the book :-)
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