Reported by
Kristin
James Patterson publishes
fast and furiously with a variety of co-writers, and is very popular with
readers. This week Nevermore kicked off
with The Store by Patterson and Richard DiLallo. When husband and wife Jacob and Megan
Brandeis decide to seek new employment at a mega-store (think Amazon or Walmart
warehouse) they have a secret plan to write an expose of the business. The employer provides excellent benefits
including housing, but the control exerted over the employees proves to be more
than a bit unsettling. Our reader found
it to be an excellent novel with a dystopian twist.
Turning to
non-fiction, another reader brought up The Boys in the Bunkhouse: Servitude
and Salvation in the Heartland by Dan Barry. A true story of intellectually disabled men
who were exploited by the owners of a turkey processing plant from the
mid-1970s until 2009, the book explains the horrible conditions in which the
men were forced to work and live while being paid a pittance. Our reader found it tragic that this sort of
abuse can still happen today.
Our next reader
told the group of Conundrum by Jan Morris, published in 1974, “From
James to Jan—an extraordinary narrative of transsexualism.” One of the first transgender autobiographies,
Morris’ story is a revelation of her lifelong identification as female. Our reader found it very interesting to learn
of Morris’ feelings during her physical transition. At age 91, Morris still lives in Wales with
her wife, whom she has been with since 1949.
Nomadland:
Surviving America in the Twenty-first Century by Jessica Bruder intrigued the group, focusing on a
growing population of older people who have chosen to travel around the country
working seasonal positions during their retirement years. As some Americans have discovered that
retirement or Social Security checks just don’t cover their monthly expenses,
they have hit the road in motorhomes, vans, and travel trailers in search of
income to make ends meet. Our reader
found the situations portrayed in the book very interesting, although sad that
the current economy forces many people to make choices they otherwise would not
have made.
The Wizard
and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape
Tomorrow’s World by
Charles C. Mann launched much discussion, as the argument between the need to
conserve and the need to develop new technologies to expand food sources is
laid out by two visionaries. In the face
of exploding world population, should humans attempt to cut back and live more
simply, as Norman Borlaug believes, or should we work to develop new grains and
make the same amount of land produce more food, as called for by William
Vogt? Nevermore members had plenty to
say as they tackled issues such as world population, genetically modified foods,
and nitrogen fertilizers.
Returning to the
fiction side of things, our next reader enjoyed How to Stop Time, by
Matt Haig. The main character Tom Hazard
seems to be a normal 41-year-old high school history teacher living in
London. However, he’s lived much longer
than those few decades—he has a rare health condition that makes him unable to
die. A secret society exists to protect
those with this disorder, helping them change their lives every eight years to
hide their secret. Although his
situation makes it impossible for Tom to spend his life with one woman, he
falls in love. Our reader loved the
book, and was particularly enthralled by the news that Benedict Cumberbatch has
bought the movie rights and plans to star in the upcoming film.
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