KML SPRING 2021 BOOK DISCUSSION SERIES RETRO-HISTORY: THE HISTORICAL NOVEL
Email kla-bmcallister@biblio.org or call 860-927-3761 to register.
Press Release 1/29/21
(Kent, Connecticut) – “The ‘historic’ novel is, for me, condemned…. You may multiply the little facts that can be got from pictures & documents, relics & prints, as much as you like – the real thing is almost impossible to do… the invention, the representation of the old consciousness, the soul, the sense, the horizon, the vision of individuals in whose minds half the things that make ours, that make the modern world were non-existent….” Henry James. Quoted in A Chance Meeting.
The Spring 2021 book group will focus on four novels that try to defy James’ admonition. We will consider how and to what extent authors are successful in rendering the past, and discuss what works and why. There is one sense in which all of our most famous works are historical fiction, starting with Homer and the Bible, but our four novels will be recent publications. They have been arranged in pairs, two novels that start out in the West Indies, two novels that involve Europe and Japan.
Miller, Kei. Augustown. February 25
Edugyan, Esi. Washington Black. March 25
Moss, Sarah. Signs for Lost Children. April 22
Lemmie, Asha. Fifty Words for Rain. May 20
The Kent Memorial Library book discussion takes place on Thursdays. Please note the new time: 4:30 to 5:30 PM. Register by emailing kla-bmcallister@biblio.org or calling 860-927-3761. Discussions will take place over Zoom until otherwise advertised, so please register with the Library to gain access. It is helpful to let the staff know if you will supply your own reading material or would like the Library to see if it can obtain interlibrary copies. The discussion is conducted by Betty Krasne, PhD., writer, professor emerita, and longtime Kent resident.
Kent Memorial Library provides a center for collaborative engagement, education and enrichment for the greater Kent community. Kent Memorial Library is located at 32 North Main Street, Kent, Connecticut, 860-927-3761. Visit kentmemoriallibrary.org for more information.