The Thousand Autums

I love to read.

You all know that.

It's been a while since I've read a book that has both had a character with a disability (or difference) that has challenged me to really think deeply about disability, about culture, about society, about sexuality, about history. Well, I'm reading one now. I'm only about a third the way and I knew, just knew, that I wanted to talk about this book with others who 'get' disability. I love the way that author's of fiction can cast light on reality in ways that sometimes non-fiction cannot. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet is one such book.

David Mitchell I will admit is a favourite of mine. His Cloud Atlas has been on the top of my 'best books I have ever read' list for years. Black Swan Green, a triumphant novel about growing up - with a difference - is compassionate and compelling two words seldom used together in book reviews. But, 'Thousand Autumns' is dragging me places that I need to go, asking me to think about things I need to think about. It makes the social bruise of disability twinge as if gently touched.

So, dear readers, it's Book Club time.

We haven't done this for awhile and the last one didn't come off. But I promise this time we will go ahead. I'm annoucing the book now and the book club will be held on the first week of June.

I love doing these book clubs for several reasons:

1) Fiction gives us the opportuntity to discuss the real through the fictional and somehow that's safer.

2) Novelists aren't beholding to anyone and as such aren't emburdened by expectations of others.

3) The disability community needs to support artists that bring us stories that reflect our lives, buying their books, talking about their ideas do just that.

4) Who doesn't like talking about books.

5) Books like Thousand Autumns, in my opinion, deserve a readership.

So, who's in?