We are
resilient, forbearing, strong, optimistic, creative, and wise. We made the best
of the bad situation of 2020 and celebrated the traditional end-of-year
holidays with a nontraditional holiday party on Zoom. It was fun! I am grateful
to everyone who attended and helped bring a holiday feeling to the day!
This post
focuses on our discussion of The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown.
The book discussion was recorded and was so complimentary of the book, I
decided to highlight the complimentary things said about the book. The
following are the parts of the discussion that expressed what we liked about
the book. The quotes are lightly edited to adjust the conversational tone into
one better for reading than hearing:
Pam gave the
book 5 Stars on her strict personal evaluation system, saying, “I was
fascinated!”
Joyce M.: I
thought the language was beautiful in it. I think that language was very
elegant.
Here there was some discussion with several members agreeing that the book could have been shorter, with less detail in places.
Dennis: I enjoyed the sections on the boatbuilding.
Photos thanks to Jay. They are from when he was 15 and built a canoe from orange crates. He found the plans in Boys' Life Magazine.
Lydia: I was interested in George Pocock, as a British expatriate. Everybody thought that he was such a good person. He sounded very interesting and sympathetic, and real.
Marcia: I
didn’t think I was going to like the book, but then as I was reading, it was
compelling, and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going on. I really liked
the stories of each boy in the boat and his background, especially since most
of them weren’t wealthy. They all had to have jobs in the summer; and during
any kind of break from college, they had to go work. And that job several had
at the rockpile – they climbed a rock and they had some kind of a sledge hammer
(an air hammer) to crack rock, and how strong they had to be and how rough that
was. And then they were going to dynamite that side of that cliff, and they all
had to rush and get out of the way. That was amazing!
Joanne:
Being abandoned at 10 years old and turning out the way he did. Amazing!
Carla: Did
anybody watch any of the videos?
Joanne: I watched some of the rowing; I couldn’t stop watching it. It’s so amazing! I was tired after just reading about how they did their exercise every day – and they did it in the cold and the wind and the rain.
There was
some discussion about kayaking and canoeing and some screen sharing of relevant
photos.
Joyce M.: Back
to my earlier comment about liking the language in this book, I thought the
description of these guys on the transatlantic crossing on that ship was just
lovely, because it really captured the wonder of that experience. Almost
everything that they saw and that happened to them was something outside of
their world, and they delighted almost like little children in all of it! When
they got free access to all that food in the dining room, I thought the
language was perfect!
Pam: I agree with Joyce about the writing. It has been a long time since I read a book where I felt it all, the way I did reading this one. I felt like I was there with the characters! I thought the author painted vivid images of Germany, with Hitler arranging for the audience to be in just one area, with all the beauty and the people all dressed nicely. The reader could tell it was the façade Hitler wanted to show. I could picture that. I’ve read that in some other books; but in this one, it really hit home with me. And, all of the vivid description of poor Joe’s situations as a child, with his father, etc. I felt what everyone was feeling in the book. It was like I was there with them!
Joanne: Joe
had an indomitable spirit!
Pam: He rebounded
from every setback. When he found out that his Dad had been right there in town
all those years, you just couldn’t help but feel as if your heart was being ripped out!
Marcia: The
best part of the book was how they all could work so well together. My
favorite slogan is “well-oiled machine,” which we use when everyone is doing
what is needed at work, and we’re a good team. I liked seeing that same idea in the book.
Claudia: It
was a cliffhanger all the way through, even though you knew what would happen
at the end.
Dennis: I read
a lot of military history. I always know who wins the battle, but I still enjoy
the books!
Carla: I
agree. Even though you know they win at the end, it’s still a nailbiter!
Joanne: That
goes back to Joyce’s point. The writing is amazing!
Joyce M.: It wasn’t where they ended up; it was how they got there!
Notes:
The Adirondack Museum on Blue Mountain Lake in Upstate NY has a wonderful collection of hand-built wooden boats, not racing shells but all kinds of other boats, a wide variety.
ROWING
LINKS for AUSTIN
Yelp page comparing Texas Rowing
Center with Austin Rowing Club
Please let the Book Club know if you join one of these!
