Our book group has continued to meet throughout Covid restrictions. We even managed a couple of face to face meetings in gardens this summer following a year of resorting to online discussions. Our meeting on 1st September was therefore a real treat for those of us who gathered in our usual haunt for the first time since February 2020. Seeing the ‘Reserved’ sign on our round table in the snug of the Prince of Wales was just like old times, as was the welcome sight of the roaring fire in the log burning stove!
The book under review was the intriguing “Eight Months on Ghazzah Street’ by Hilary Mantel. It was one of Mantel’s earlier books and the overall impression was that she was still experimenting with her style. This added to the confusion about what was actually happening in this murder mystery story. All of us found it a difficult read although all agreed she definitely captured the sense of alienation felt by an expat who was unprepared for the environment she found herself in. Despite none of us liking the book, it prompted a lengthy and lively wide ranging discussion about the difficulty of adapting to cultures so different from our own, and our own personal experiences of travelling abroad.
