Tracey Chevalier

Thank you to every one who made it out last night. What a lovely discussion about a really good book. Its so nice to read a book that has such a gentle tempo, that really suits its topic and is very befitting of the time period. I loved that Chevalier used real people and real places creating a perfect mix of fiction and history together. Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philipot were fascinating characters from very different stations in society yet they seemed to have a connection when it came to fossil hunting. I found it very interesting that throughout the whole book they referred to themselves as fossil hunters where as the men were referred to as fossil collectors, I wonder why this is, perhaps Chevalier was trying to make a point about a woman station in this kind of environment. Did you know that Mary was the inspiration behind the tongue twister "She Sells Seas Shells on the Sea Shore". Chevalier does a wonderful job of pealing back the layers, we meet an uneducated Mary who is eager to learn, Elizabeth teachers her how to read, Mary teaches Elizabeth how to  find, clean and empathize with the fossils, Elizabeth is the voice of intellect and is well aware of the critical nature of society, yet she is viewed as odd by the provincial society of Lyme. It is a story of breaking conventions and changing the way that people think about life,and most obviously God. I love that Chevalier focuses on the relationship between the women right to the very end tying it all up neatly. All in all a great read and I will defiantly be trying some of her other novels.

Books other people have been reading this month :

The sense of an ending by Julian Barnes
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kinsolver
The end of and Affair by Graham Greene


For those of you who were not at the meeting, next month will be my last as a Library employee, my work permit is about to expire so I'm about to become a lady of Leisure ! I am (with your permission) going to continue with the book group in my own time, so I hope you will all continue to join me. If you have any questions or concerns you can leave me a message at the front desk or post here.

Next months books is The Sea The Sea by Iris Murdock, I have copies in if anyone is ready.

Happy reading

Ellie