AWC Going Dutch March 2019

Credit: Amazon
Ongoing Activities (cont.)
Continued from page 15
Evening Book Club
March Selection:
The Dinner by Herman
Koch
It’s a summer’s evening
in Amsterdam, and two
couples meet at a fashionable
restaurant for dinner.
Between mouthfuls of
food and over the polite
scrapings of cutlery, the
conversation remains a gentle hum of polite
discourse—the banality of work, the triviality
of the holidays. But behind the empty
words, terrible things need to be said, and
with every forced smile and every new
course, the knives are being sharpened.
Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told
by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner
promises to be the topic of countless dinner
party debates. Skewering everything from
Evening Book Club Reading List:
April 10: The Song of Achilles by Madeline
Miller
May 8: TBA
parenting values to pretentious menus to
political convictions, this novel reveals the
dark side of genteel society and asks what
each of us would do in the face of unimaginable
tragedy.
The location changes every month,
so please contact Dena Haggerty at
bookclubevening@awcthehague.org if you
are interested in attending.
Wednesday, March 20
7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
FREE
Evening Book Club Recap – December
Writing a review for A Gentleman in
Moscow by Amor Towles, is difficult.
Where to begin? Towles is obviously an accomplished
writer and storyteller. No wonder
it takes him four years to write a novel.
Count Rostov is an endearing character. His
charm knows no bounds. It is not ironic to
name him a gentleman, because he certainly
is one. He isn’t a snob, though. The secondary
characters are a delight to read—even
those characters who aren’t exactly delightful.
Of course, Sofia is adorable. She is the
perfect daughter for the perfect gentleman.
But the count’s cronies steal the show whenever
they arrive on stage. Towles seamlessly
intermixes history into the Count’s tale. The
account of the dekulakization of Ukraine is
especially moving. He weaves this tidbit of
history (and how misunderstood the slaughter
was by the West) into the story flawlessly.
This novel transforms the reader to mid-
20th century Russia. You may be surprised
to find you aren’t sitting in a Moscow hotel
with a view of the Bolshoi. A novel not to
be missed!
Evening Book Club Recap – January
The prose in The Only Story by Julian Barnes
makes it clear why the author is an award
winner. Although the story isn’t necessarily
captivating and the characters aren’t exactly
lovable, Barnes’ ability to weave a story
will captivate readers. The protagonist Paul
is not a likeable character. He is emotionally
stunted, immature, and a bit of a brat. He is,
however, one of the most honest characters
to be found in literature. His love—his only
love—Susan, isn’t a sympathetic character
either. Her personality doesn’t seem to be
of consequence. As this is Paul’s story, >> 18
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