MSB Book Club – March
The MSB Book Club discusses their February read and attended their first author event of 2023.
February’s book
February’s book was chosen by Biba Metcalfe, Paralegal, and she chose Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo.
On choosing this book, Biba said, “I have chosen Girl, Woman, Other because I have had the book for a couple of years and not got round to reading it. It has been recommended to me by multiple people and I’ve heard it is a very good read. I consider myself a feminist and I think it is important to listen to other women, especially women of colour, and their different experiences with the patriarchy, and make sure I am working towards being intersectional with my feminism.”
About the Book
This is Britain as you’ve never read it.
This is Britain as it has never been told. From Newcastle to Cornwall, from the birth of the twentieth century to the teens of the twenty-first, Girl, Woman, Other follows a cast of twelve characters on their personal journeys through this country and the last hundred years. They’re each looking for something – a shared past, an unexpected future, a place to call home, somewhere to fit in, a lover, a missed mother, a lost father, even just a touch of hope . . .
Girl, woman, Other was a bestseller when released and won Book of the Year at The British Book Awards Fiction 2020, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020, the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction 2020 and was joint winner of the Booker Prize 2019. This meant Bernardine Evaristo was the first black woman to win the Booker Prize in 2019, and the first Black female author to top the fiction chart in the UK.
Staff Reviews
“I would give this book 4 stars. The formatting/style and how time was represented took me a while to get used to but once I was familiar, it was a wonderful read. It made me emotional and I loved that it covered so many different voices and generations of black British women. I will be reading more from Bernardine.”
Rachael Payne, Solicitor ****
“I would give this book 4 stars. I was behind on my reading this month, but I found this book to be quite compelling and I was able to finish it over the course of a few days. The story is told from the perspective of 12 different characters, and I liked discovering how their lives intersected. The book deals with some dark and heavy themes but it always felt compassionate rather than gratuitous and the characters were nuanced and had depth. The book has quite an unusual sentence structure, but I thought it was effective and the writing flowed well – I barely noticed it after the first few pages.”
Michelle Summers, Solicitor ****
“I would give this book 5 stars. I read this last year and remember really enjoying it. It took me a while to get into, but I remember loving it once I got over that initial struggle. I would recommend it to others.”
Emma Carey, Managing Partner *****
March’s Book
March’s book was chosen by Michelle Summers. Michelle picked ‘The Couple at No 9’ by Claire Douglas.
About the Book: When Saffron Cutler and boyfriend Tom move into 9 Skelton Place, they didn’t expect to find this.
Two bodies, buried under the patio over thirty years ago.
When the police launch a murder investigation, they ask to speak to the cottage’s former owner – Saffy’s grandmother, Rose, whose Alzheimer’s clouds her memory.
But it is clear she remembers something . . .
What happened thirty years ago?
What part did her grandmother play?
And is Saffy now in danger? . . .
Michelle Said, “I like a good mystery story with a twist and I’m hoping that other members of the book club may enjoy this one! It is a mystery so I’d recommend going into it knowing as little as possible – the Amazon reviews have contained unmarked spoilers in the past so please beware, although the worst offenders seem to have been removed now!”
JoJo Moyes Event 21st February 2023
Some of our Book Club members attended their first author event of 2023 at an evening with Jojo Moyes, hosted by Linghams Booksellers. The event was held at Birkenhead School on the Wirral.
Jojo Moyes is an international best-selling author, and her works include Me Before You, The Giver of Stars, and her most recent book, Someone Else’s Shoes.
It was an excellent turn out for the author and those in attendance received a hardback copy of her latest book, a bookmark, and a tote bag.
The Q&A with Linghams flowed beautifully, offering great insight into Jojo’s journey as an author, her favourite authors to read, how she deals with film adaptations, and her most recent book. Jojo also took questions from the audience, including taking a question from an MSB book club member. When asked if there were any adaptations of books, she was looking forward to seeing, she revealed she was looking forward to the Daisy Jones & the Six adaptation, especially as Sam Claflin is in one of the leads roles. You may remember he also starred in the film adaptation of Me Before You.
After the Q&A with Jojo, there was an opportunity to get your book signed and have pictures taken with Jojo herself, which all of our members took advantage of! Rachael Payne, Co-ordinator of the MSB Book Club, brought along 7 books, including the latest, and was so grateful they all got signed. She gave a little curtsey to Jojo, much to the amusement of Jojo, Linghams, and the other book club members.
The book club thoroughly enjoyed the author event and look forward to attending more in 2023.
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