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** REGISTRATION HAS ENDED ** To be put on a waiting list\, please contact \;promisesbookclub@gmail.com.< /strong>
\nWelcome \;to \;the \;Promises\, Promises
\;Book Club series\, \;a discussion of \;recent fiction that grapp
les with the theme \;of \;people \;making&mdash\;and \;som
etimes \;breaking&mdash\;a \;serious promise or pledge. \;&nbs
p\;Participants will read \;about an America where fascism \;has b
ecome \;a political rallying cry\; \;about \;a Scottish island
where a lifelong pledge is broken by a heartless act of avarice\; \;a
bout \;a boatload of immigrants who find the American husbands they&rs
quo\;ve been promised aren&rsquo\;t at all what they&rsquo\;d hoped for\;
and \;about \;a South African \;family that struggles \;wi
th \;its own bigotry \;long after \;the apartheid era \;ha
s come \;to an end. \;
\;
The series is led by Phil
ip Burnham\, \;retired \;associate professor in the English Depart
ment at George Mason University. \; \;All discussions will be held
\;in the Large Meeting Room \;of West End Library \;on the da
tes below\, \;from \;6:30-7:45 \;p.m. \; \;Please
\;join us \;early for light refreshments \;between 6:15 and 6:30 P
M. \;
About two \;weeks before each session\, \;the bo
ok club will send participants some links to \;websites \;relevant
to \;the next \;novel as well as a list of \;study questions
intended to inspire reflection for readers for the \;upcoming \;di
scussion. \;
\;
The series is funded by the
West End Library Friends. \; \;Readers do not have to be a mem
ber of the Friends to join this group. \; Available at West End Neighb
orhood Library are limited copies of all the books discussed.
\;
Read below for the schedule and titles of works discussed:
&nbs
p\;
September \;17 \;&ndash\;The Plot Again
st America\, \;Philip Roth \;
What would have ha
ppened if Charles Lindbergh had challenged Franklin Roosevelt for the pres
idency in 1940&mdash\;and won? \; \;A hypothetical--but chilling--
answer to that question is Philip Roth&rsquo\;s venture into counterfactua
l history\, \;The Plot Against America. \; \;Based in Newark\,
New Jersey\, where Roth spent his youth\, a grim narrative unfolds that&n
bsp\;violently \;divides a family\, a city\, \;and a nation. A nov
el published over twenty years ago\, Roth&rsquo\;s fiction feels as though
it could have been written only yesterday. \;
\;
From the Middle Ages \;through \;th
e \;Industrial Revolution\, the Enclosure movement \;in Great Brit
ain \;devastated millions \;of lives. \; \;The Ondaatje Pr
ize winner from 2025\, Carys Davies&rsquo\; \;Clear \;is set on a
remote Scottish island whose lone inhabitant \;can&rsquo\;t \;avoi
d the fate of this great social upheaval. \; \;Be warned: this&nbs
p\;isn&rsquo\;t \;quite \;the \;Victorian-era \;British Is
les of the Brontë\; sisters or Charles Dickens. \; \;The novel
tells a deeply personal \;and rural \;story that unfolds far from
the madding crowd\, and with an ending that few readers will \;antici
pate. \; \; \;
\;
November 19&mdash\;The&
nbsp\;Buddha in the Attic\, \;Julie Otsuka \;
A
long time before Internet dating services \;were \;all \;the r
age\, &ldquo\;picture brides&rdquo\; were \;how \;couples were&nbs
p\;matched \;when separated by \;daunting \;obstacles \;li
ke the Pacific Ocean. \; \;Julie Otsuka dares what few writers eve
r attempt\, a novel told with a collective voice\, a group story \;abo
ut the experience of immigrant Japanese women in America&mdash\;all \;
in a volume that barely numbers a hundred pages and still won the PEN-Faul
kner Award for Fiction. \; \;After reading Otsuka\, you will never
\;again \;think of San Francisco\, much less California\, in quit
e the same way. \;
\;
December \;17&mdash\;
The Promise\, \;Damon Galgut \;
On her deathbed\, Rachel Swart \;makes her husband&nb
sp\;take a \;difficult \;vow. \; \;Unbeknownst to them\, t
heir young daughter \;is listening. \; \;But the \;husband
has no intention \;of fulfilling the \;promise\, and \;it is
left to their children to choose what to do \;with it. \; \;Th
e Swart family \;is \;at the center of Damon Galgut&rsquo\;s novel
\, \;the \;Booker Prize winner \;in 2021\, about the cost
\;of \;South African apartheid \;for \;black and white inhabit
ants alike\, its \;legacy \;surviving \;in \;fundamental&n
bsp\;ways decades \;after \;it \;was abandoned.
\;