The latest book club read championed by Waterstones in Ballymena is Nutshell by Ian McEwan. I am tremendously excited about their summer choice because last year it was one of my favourite books. It is a quick read with wickedly black humour. I reviewed it in full at www.supersimbo – here is a an excerpt.
Ian McEwan has written a lot of books. Seventeen to date. It makes one wonder – Has he run out of stories to tell? Has he mined the depth of characters and their flaws? With Nutshell he answers defiantly. No one is safe, McEwan will tell you a good tale and it will be entertaining and uncomfortable all at the same time. In other words it will be wonderful.
I feel guilty calling Nutshell wonderful, but it actually is. However please heed this one caution – do not read this if pregnant. Now that I have this off my chest we can proceed. You see Nutshell is narrated by a foetus, in its mothers womb. A foetus who has already developed a darkly wry sense of humour, and who has overheard everything going on in the life of his mother. Not a great mother in many respects. She enjoys a few drinks and is currently embroiled in an affair, with her husbands brother, and is not so subtly trying to claim ownership of his Georgian townhouse in London. What a wonderful place to start!
To read my full review please click here.
The book will be discussed in Waterstones on Wednesday 4th July and I woudl recommend anyone who has read the book to come along and join in. Discussing books with other readers often opens up lots of discussion and ideas that you hadn’t considered and we think that it is a great evening out.
Also the group have already picked their August book which means you can pick it up now and take it on holiday with you. It is a memoir from Northern Ireland born Maggie O’Farrell. I read it in January and shared my views here.
Again it is a great read and will be discussed at the August book club meeting in Ballymena Waterstones. Also if you are interested in what I am reading please follow me on here at my bookish Instagram account – Books Northern Ireland, and don’t forget to follow Ballymena Today on Instagram too.