Character development, plot, reader engageability and relatability, are arguably the most important elements of any book. Both books read by the Ladies Who Brunch, The Vacationers (Emma Straub) and Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir (Ruth Reichl) possessed these qualities in different ways.
The Vacationers
The main sell for Straub’s novel is that it is character driven. The characters were easily relatable through the conflicts and resolutions they faced. Each member of the Post family had his or her own agenda and goals. They rebelled away from their beliefs, thought highly of themselves, and could not come together as a family. Without the full cast of characters, the plot was predictable and did not do much to help the book. The Ladies concluded: the characters, more than the narrative writing, drove this book.
Save Me the Plums
Reichl’s book covered the other three points, relatable, engaging, and point of interest driven. Reading about a day in the life of Reichl, who rose to editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, would be of interest to someone entering the publishing industry. She wrote a lot about how she thought the industry wanted to view her and not being able to stay true to herself. Too often when people enter any industry, there is already a preconception of how they should act to get in with the right crowd. Reichl elucidates that sometimes, it’s more about being yourself and seeing what opportunities open up for you.
Up Next…
The next reading group is this weekend and will also be a double feature! We will be comparing City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert — a novel addressing immigration in New York during the 1940s — and The Lido by Libby Page — a novel about friendship and saving a swimming pool in England.
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Hi, just so your readers are aware…our next meeting won’t focus on a comparative, though we will discuss both works. The Lido is a debut novel by a young writer. City of Girls is by the established Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love). We decided on two books because of the long summer break, and so felt we could add in The Lido, one of the Great Group Reads from last year, as its story was so apropos as a summer read. As well, I want to address your comment about Straub’s writing. The group noted her clear, skilled writing. She is a meticulous, clean writer who it notably literary without obvious lyricism. And while some felt the story didn’t have a lot of “movement” in terms of engaging action, well, this was a story about a family on a vacation at a rented house in Mallorca and the interpersonal relationship between a family and their friends, and certainly was a satisfying, relaxing read.