Category: Book Group

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer – Forth Valley

March’s book choice for our group was ‘Woman at Point Zero’ by Nawal El Saadawi. 

This book, written in the late 1970s, tells the heartbreaking story of Firdaus, whose impoverished, difficult life has led her to a death sentence in a Cairo prison. Ahead of her execution, she tells her story, from her earliest memories and along the way, we meet the people who let her down, who oppressed her, who determined her choices, to bring her to where we meet her, in her cell. 

While ‘Woman at Point Zero’ is a work of fiction, it is based on the life of a female prisoner the author met when researching women experiencing neurosis.  

“…I put her down in ink on paper and gave her life after she died.”  

Opinion within our group was divided on this reading. The group rated it 4.8 out of 10, with one reader giving it only 1/10, one saying it was 0/10 for them and others scoring it at 8/10. 

People agreed it was an easy read, in the sense that it is a short book – only 142 pages long – with accessible language. In contrast to this, however, we discussed how difficult the subject matter was, with some of the group saying they had struggled with how depressing they found it and persevered in the hope that there would be something more positive towards the end.  

We discussed the power of the novel; in the light it shines on Egypt’s patriarchal society at that time; members of the group commented that its portrayal of the treatment of women could be located anywhere in the world and still holds relevance, unfortunately, today.  

We spoke of themes of trust and respect and touched on religious hypocrisy. 

We discussed the impact of living in poverty and the contrast in the lives of Firdaus and the author, herself a native of Egypt and spent time considering the title and what it meant for Firdaus to be ‘at point zero’ – is her refusal of the opportunity to appeal her sentence the ultimate power she can yield, her death her release from a life of pain and abuse, or the complete wearing down of a woman who no longer sees a point in staying alive. 

Some comments from our group: 

‘I was looking forward to reading it but felt deflated by it.’ 

‘… I have to say I didn’t like it at all… I persevered with it hoping for something good to happen.’ 

 ‘I’d have liked to learn more about Egyptian culture at that time… There wasn’t enough context.’ 

‘I liked it for lots of reasons. It’s a shorter read so I didn’t have the pressure to read lots and it’s a light read in terms of language. It’s depressing but that’s the reality/her truth… the beginning didn’t get me at first and at the end, I thought, is that it?’ 

‘…I liked the feminine themes… there were some really beautifully written bits… It surprised me how I related to her, though our lifestyles are so different…’ 

How to join the book group:

The Scottish Families Book Group is for anyone who is currently being supported by one of our services in Scotland.

For more information or to join us, please contact groups@sfad.org.uk.

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer – Forth Valley

‘A Terrible Kindness’ by Jo Browning Wroe

February’s book choice for our group was ‘A Terrible Kindness’ by Jo Browning Wroe.

The book starts in 1966, at the time of the Aberfan disaster, when a landslide engulfed a primary school and houses in the village, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Nineteen-year-old William, the main character in this story, has just qualified as an embalmer and feels compelled to go to Wales and help. What he experiences there stays with him, having an impact on his life and relationships and connecting him to losses throughout his own life. 

What seemingly starts as a book about Aberfan quickly becomes a book about William’s life and his relationships, covering the themes of family, friends, sexuality, guilt, forgiveness, kindness, grief, and PTSD. 

This was one of our most highly rated reads, with our group scoring it at 8.9 out of 10. 

Everyone found it an easy read, despite lots of its subject matter, agreeing that the topics were covered sensitively and respectfully. The settings were well described and there were lots of strong characters in the book who were mostly liked, with the one exception being William’s mum and the choices she made during his childhood: 

“My job in life, William, is to love you like no on earth, and I have to say, I think I’m doing a pretty good job…”

Everyone agreed that she was not doing a good job at all and we discussed how her emotions, fears and judgements made her a very selfish mum at times. 

We explored what it must be like to have conflicting pressure from a parent regarding career choices and spoke about William’s friendship with Martin, one of his fellow choir boys at Cambridge. We also discussed the role of the Midnight Choir later on in William’s life – the powerful impact of what happens to Colin, a member of the choir, and how William responds to this incident.  We also spoke about how William seems to feel more at ease with dead bodies than living people and discussed his relationship with Gloria and the importance of their visit together to Aberfan, years after the disaster. This visit marks a turning point in their relationship and points to a more hopeful future, which is where the story ends. 

Some comments from our group: 

• ‘…it’s a strange topic, I wasn’t very keen at first but I grew into it.’
• ‘…handled the tragedy beautifully.”
• ‘…there was a real sense of self throughout this book – both in being true to yourself and what you want and also how bodies should look like themselves…’
• ‘..author creates powerful images, like the child’s hand with the painted fingernails showing at her coffin…’

How to join the book group:

The Scottish Families Book Group is for anyone who is currently being supported by one of our services in Scotland.

For more information or to join us, please contact Lena from our team groups@sfad.org.uk.

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer – Forth Valley

‘Winter Ghosts’ by Kate Mosse

January’s book choice for our group was ‘Winter Ghosts’ by Kate Mosse. Set in France, 1928, this is the story of Freddie, a man struggling with the loss of his brother. While driving through the mountains in snowy conditions, he loses control of his car, which spins off the road. Freddie walks off in search of help, finding himself in the remote village of Nulle. There he meets the captivating Fabrissa, but all is not quite what it seems, as the story flits between Freddie’s present day 1928 and a centuries-old past. 

“We are who we are because of those we love and who we allow to love us.” 

This is a book that covers themes of grief, memory, and war, in an almost fairytale form of storytelling. 

Our group rated it at 7.4 out of 10. 

Quite a few of our readers found it a slow-paced read in the beginning, almost a chore, and we later discussed if this was a conscious choice from the other, to suggest an early stage of Freddie’s grief. Conversely, another reader found it a quick read and most of the group agreed that it was, at least on the surface, an easy read.

We discussed the which characters we liked and disliked and covered the topics of grief and war and touched briefly on closure and moving on. 

Readers in the group commented positively on the writer’s style of writing, liking its descriptive nature which made it ‘very atmospheric.’ 

Some comments from our group: 

“…very poetically written, her descriptions were lovely.”

“…simple story, bit unbelievable at times but covered quite serious topics.”

“…shows the importance of family, which was missing in this…”

How to join the book group:

The Scottish Families Book Group is for anyone who is currently being supported by one of our services in Scotland.

For more information or to join us, please contact Lena from our team groups@sfad.org.uk.

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

August’s book choice for our group was  ‘The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul’ by Deborah Rodriguez 

The book tells the story of five very different women, whose lives cross paths in a café in Kabul: 

• Sunny, an American woman who runs the café 
• Yazmina, a young women plucked from the relative safety of her sheltered, remote, rural world, now vulnerable and alone on the streets of Kabul  
• Isabel, an English journalist who chases stories in dangerous areas 
• Candace, a wealth American who has turned her back on her marriage to be with her Afghan lover 
• Halajan, an older Afghan woman who has lived through different political regimes and strives to be herself while respecting the laws and traditions of her present-day world 

Interwoven into their stories are a multitude of other, mostly male characters, who impact the women in a variety of different ways.  

The book was popular with our group, who gave it a rating of 7.8 out of 10. 

Pretty much everyone agreed that this was an easy read, which transported its readers to another world. Some of our group practically felt they were in the warmth and hubbub of the cafe. That said, there were shocking parts to the story that briefly covered the horrendous treatment of women and highlighted the challenges females can face, through no fault of their own but merely the life circumstances within which they find themselves. 

Love and friendship are other themes we identified in the book, with the café being a centre of support and connection for all five main female characters. Love weaves its way through each of the pages, ultimately winning (for most) in the face of judgement and fear of retribution. 

One criticism made of the book was how many characters there are –perhaps too many – with members of our group feeling there were male characters in the background who added very little to the story and there was a sense of loss in some of the characters not being more developed throughout the book. Another was the big change that one of the male characters makes towards the end of the book, with a few of our readers feeling this happened very quickly. 

We spent ages discussing our favourite characters – Sunny, Rashif and Jack all got a mention, with Yazmina and Halajan each being chosen by a couple of members of our group – as well as who we thought were the bravest characters and considered what we thought the author’s motivation for writing the book were. Our group thought these might be shining a light on some of the conditions faced by women in Afghanistan; exploring cultural differences; highlighting the importance of kindness and showing the power of love. 

Some quotes from our readers: 

‘Brilliant… so well written, I couldn’t put it down and felt like I was there.’

‘I wasn’t sure about some of the words at first, the cultural difference and I was unsure if I could connect with it, but I enjoyed it as I read more, and it held my interest.’

‘An easy read, a page turner in the beginning but the pace has slowed for me now.’

‘I really enjoyed it; it got me from the beginning, and I felt drawn in and involved very quickly. The café and the way the women made time for themselves each week, made me think of this group and how grateful I am for it.’

How to join the book group:

The Scottish Families Book Group is for anyone who is currently being supported by one of our services in Scotland.

For more information or to join us, please contact Lena from our team groups@sfad.org.uk.

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

This is the true story of Raynor and Moth Winn, a couple in their fifties, who have been together for over 30 years. 

A devastatingly unjust court case leaves them virtually penniless, without a home or livelihood, just days after learning Moth has a rare, degenerative disease. Faced with uncertain prospects, Moth and Raynor choose to embark on a 630-mile walk on the South West Coast path, wild camping along the way. 

The book describes their journey, encompassing their surroundings; the elements of the weather; the realities of wild camping; their experience of living in poverty and getting by on very little; and their relationship. 

Ultimately, this is a book of courage, hope, resilience and love: keeping going in the face of great adversity. 

Our group rated this book at 6.8 out of 10. 

Most of our readers thought it was well written, with beautiful descriptions, although one reader found it too descriptive and another said they found it boring and ended up skimming lots of paragraphs. The themes we discussed included age – the ageism they experienced along the path being highlighted; homelessness; freedom; friendship; their relationship and grief and loss.  

The book’s emotional impact resonated with all of our readers, with people connecting with it in many different ways, from memories of camping and walking to times spent in the areas they walked in and more personal reflections on challenges faced in the past. 

Some comments from our group: 

‘Beautiful, heartbreaking, captivating… I was totally rooting for them.’

‘It made me cry a few times; it caught me out.’

‘It was alive, I felt that I was walking with them, trudging along.’

‘The book gave lots of hope: from dreadful circumstances to being so brave to get up and go – never crossed their minds to give up.’

‘Thought I would have enjoyed it more but I liked the life lessons in there about homelessness and being grateful for what we’ve got.’

‘I appreciated their courage but I find it boring and repetitive in places – walk, camp, pee or poo in the wild, eat not very much and get up and do it all over again.’

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

January’s book choice for our group was ‘Lucy by the Sea’ by Elizabeth Strout 

Set in March 2020, this story is about Lucy and her ex-husband William’s escape to coastal Maine, at the start of the pandemic. William anticipates the threat of Covid and is happy to leave New York; Lucy cannot see what all the fuss is about and would initially prefer to be at home. 

Weeks away turn into months away, as Covid spreads and the severity of the pandemic is understood. Lucy and William share a complicated past involving marriage, children, affairs and betrayal and being together again puts their relationship on a new level. Throughout the book, we also learn the fate of different family members, and friends old and new. 

Our Book Group enjoyed a great discussion with this one. The style of writing really split opinions, with some readers loving the simplistic, conversational tone and others hating it. 

This was the first read of the group to be rated zero by one reader, who said she found it ‘deplorable’ – most other readers rated it around the six/seven mark, with the highest individual rating being eight out of ten. Overall, this gave ‘Lucy by the Sea’ a rating of 6.2 out of ten – one of our lower scoring reads, although this score doesn’t really reflect the discussion that took place. 

During our conversation, we considered William and Lucy’s different understanding of what was happening at the start of the pandemic and reflected on how we had processed the early days ourselves. We also explored many of the relationships talked about in this novel and those of us who enjoyed it said we’d like to go back and read the earlier books in the series, to learn more about Lucy and William and the history of their complex relationship. A lot of time was spent on the main characters: again, opinions were divided, with some readers finding Lucy selfish and self-centred while others saw her vulnerability and felt sorry for her; and some found William controlling while others viewed him as protective and providing security for Lucy. We also talked about Lucy and William’s daughters and the different ways they relate to their parents and spent some time on where we thought the story might go, if another book was to come out.   

Some comments from our readers: 

‘…not my kind of story…not a fan of the style of writing.’

‘I really liked the style; I thought it conveyed lots about Lucy without describing it in words.’

‘I was disappointed in the ending, it just stopped.’

‘It was an easy read, very relatable.’

‘I didn’t like the title, but I identified with the book. It was very well written, very believable. The complex characters were very well drawn, and the ending was exactly as it should be.’

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

January’s book choice for our group was ‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’ by Katherine May. 

Described by its publishers as ‘a poignant and comforting meditation on the fallow periods of life, times when we must retreat to care for and repair ourselves’ this seemed like a very apt January read for our Book Group and was our first delve into a non-fiction book. 

The author takes the season of winter – ‘a season in the cold’ – and uses it to discuss the wintering we can experience at any time in our lives, which she describes as: ‘…feeling rejected, sidelined, blocked from progress, or cast into the role of an outsider. Perhaps it results from an illness; perhaps from a life event such as a bereavement or the birth of a child; perhaps it comes from humiliation or failure.’

May talks about life as being cyclical rather than linear and we chatted about the patterns of weeks and seasons as well as stages of life such as working, raising young families, being retired etc. Some readers thought the author used different chronologies within the chapters to express these cycles; others found this aspect of the book disjointed and confusing.  

Throughout the book, May looks to nature and other cultures, to learn about how they winter, and offers us a smorgasbord of wintering wisdoms and preparations to learn from. We explored what wintering means to each of us and talked a bit out how we winter and the bravery we show in emerging from our winters – one member of the group said that getting up and keeping going everyday is bravery in itself. 

Scoring an impressive 8.4 out of 10 with our group, this book was generally very well received and led to a great discussion. People shared how they identified with the idea of wintering and in what ways they winter – around this time of year but also when the rollercoaster that is life throws something at them. Half of our group have already gifted or intend to gift their copies to someone they know – this read is definitely highly recommended! 

Some quotes from our readers: 

‘An honest, humble account where she shared her experiences.’

‘Not quite a ten as it’s a bit disjointed. Loved the different topics and I identified with lots of it – this time of year and how I respond to it.’

‘I connected with so much of it, it’s what I’ve been doing recently, being quiet and peaceful within myself.’

‘I found it difficult to get into at first and thought it was confusing, jumping from one thing to another.’

‘I’ve not finished it yet but I think that reflects the nature of the book – there’s no real beginning, middle or end or characters to get involved with – so I’ve enjoyed dipping my toe in. There was lots I didn’t identify with but the empathy and self-care were nice wee nuggets.’

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

December’s book choice for our group was ‘Comfort and Joy’ by Kristin Hannah.

Hailed as a modern-day fairytale, this is the story of Joy, a woman facing Christmas alone, after being betrayed by the two people she loved most in the world. Newly divorced and facing the holiday season alone for the first time, Joy decides to buy a plane ticket and escape somewhere new, without telling anyone.

A dramatic detour takes her to another place altogether, where she meets a young boy called Bobby and his dad, Daniel. Bobby is facing his first Christmas without his mum, who has died, and Daniel is finding single parenting difficult, not least because he and Bobby’s mum had been separated and he’d previously lived apart from his son.

What unfolds is the story of these lives coming together at Christmastime with a plot twist that throws all you think you know about what’s happening up in the air…

Our Book Group gave this book a rating of 5.2 out of 10 – not the highest scored read for us, yet a great discussion followed about many different aspects of the book.

A couple of readers were hooked in the first few chapters about the relationships between Joy, her ex-husband Thom and her sister Stacey and all that happened between them – readers said they were interested to see how this storyline would develop but instead the book went in another direction with different characters.

Everyone agreed the book was a quick, easy read that was well written and well structured. However, the words ‘ridiculous’ and ‘nonsense’ featured in our chat, and we discussed the magical realism of the book. This was not a huge hit with the group, nor the ‘Hallmark’ style of storytelling.

We discussed Joy’s feelings at the start of the book, identifying her sense of helplessness, loss and devastation, in the aftermath of her divorce. We explored her reasons for wanting to escape and talked about the relationship she built up with Bobby: two lost souls seeking family connection.

The theme of forgiveness came through in our conversation, as well as the Christian themes running throughout the book. This led to us chatting about whether we ourselves would be forgiving in Joy’s situation – this divided the group a bit, with some talking about the importance of forgiveness to be able to let go and move on and others saying they’d want to hang on to their anger a bit longer.

Most readers hadn’t seen or anticipated the plot twist – once it is revealed, people started to make more sense of what was happening and felt it was less ‘ridiculous’ or full of ‘nonsense’ at this point – one reader described this as ‘the clever bit – it all makes sense in the end.’

Some quotes from our readers:

‘From the first few chapters, I thought it would be a real rollercoaster, but it petered out. I didn’t feel any connection with the characters and through the situation between Joy and her sister was too easily resolved.’

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

November’s book choice for our group was ‘What’s Left Behind’ by Angela T Edgar.

This book tells the story of Grace, whose mum is subjected to a horrific crime at the start of the novel. What unfolds is the impact this has on Grace and other members of the family, as they try to come to terms with the attack, negotiate the legal proceedings that follow and manage the emotions they are left wrestling.

This book was a huge hit with our group, who rated it 7.9 out of 10.

We were lucky enough to have the author, Angela, join us for our discussion. Angela took us through her journey of writing the novel, which is inspired by real events that happened in her family. Angela shared that she had always kept personal journals and she turned to these when putting this book together. The crime against her mum was real and journalling at that traumatic time was a way of coping, of sorting out her thoughts.

Angela had a sense of her mum’s voice driving her on to write the book, which she self-published, saying, ‘that book wouldn’t let me go.’

During our discussion, we talked about the relationship that grows between Grace and Julian, who she meets in Edinburgh, when visiting the city for appointments with her mum’s legal team. Julian is not part of the legal team and there is an instant connection/spark between them. Many of our group wanted to know more about how their relationship develops and what Julian’s back story is and there was a definite appetite for a sequel that would cover this.

Themes of loneliness and isolation were discussed, as was the different ways siblings can respond to the same situation and want to respond differently – this was something that resonated with many of our group.

Nature was another theme that emerged in our conversation – Grace enjoys miles of walking and feels connected with the outdoors, particularly the moon. She enjoys her own space and company at these times and needs it to help her to cope.

We also discussed what it is that leads people to do bad things, in this case, Darren the perpetrator of the crime and spoke about justice, wondering what people do with the outcome of a crime and how do they deal with any injustice.

Some quotes from our readers:

‘Very engaging – I’m eating each page. I feel I’m there and didn’t want to put it down.’

‘…engrossed in the different storylines. It pulled at my heart…so much empathy. I could have wept reading about mum in the care home.’

‘I’m really enjoying it, it’s quite engaging.’

‘I really enjoyed it – this one got me right away. The amount of description, I felt I was right there. Dad in the nursing home – so sad, I felt part of it.’

‘I felt apprehensive reading the book and didn’t give it the attention it deserves. I sensed the author’s love of language and thought the story and style married well.’

By Lena McMillan, Family Support Development Officer

October’s book choice for our group was ‘The Giver of Stars’ by Jojo Moyes. 

This novel, set in Depression-era America, is an historical fiction, which draws inspiration from the Pack Horse Library Initiative: a project launched by President Roosevelt that saw librarians delivering books on horseback, to remote parts of Kentucky and the Appalachian Mountains. 

‘The Giver of Stars’ is the story of the five women who take on this remarkable task, and the drama that unfolds, following an incident in the mountains and within the communities they live and serve in.

Alice – a young woman who escapes the life she hates in England by marrying a handsome American and travelling back home with him to her new life, full of hopes of love and happiness, but her American dream is not at all what she thought it would be.

Margery – the leader of the library group: outspoken; a fiercely independent woman at a time when men held all the power and part of a family of outlaws which, despite distancing herself from them, appears to pre-determine her reputation.

Izzy – forced to join the library project by her mother.

Beth – escaping a house full of brothers by joining the library project

Sophia – a black woman who only works in the library at night, hidden from the eyes of the racist members of the community, who believe libraries should be segregated.

Themes of loyalty, love, passion and friendship emerge against a backdrop of poverty, religion, sexuality, inequality, racism and education.  There’s loads covered in this one! 

Our group rated this book at 7.6 out of 10 with one reader saying she was ‘…pleasantly surprised, wasn’t the sort of book I’d usually go for.’

There was a split between our readers with this one, with some of the group really enjoying it and racing through it while others found it annoying and harder to get through. We talked about how differently we can all read the same book – for example, all but one of us found lots of deep religious themes in the book but one reader said it had no religion in it at all and shared that what annoyed them about the book was what they viewed as modern day values projected onto an earlier period in history.  

Everyone agreed on the descriptive prose of the area, leaving our readers immersed in the Kentuckian landscape and we all enjoyed the development of the characters although, without giving any spoilers away, we did discuss some surprises later in the book, in the way characters were portrayed and/or the choices they made towards the end. 

Some comments from our readers: 

‘I absolutely loved it… really enjoyed it and the characters. It kept me engaged and wasn’t one I’d have picked up… fell in love with the characters.’ 

‘I found the portrayal of women interesting.’

‘I related to the love of literature in it and liked the quotations used at the start of some of the chapters.’

‘I’m struggling to get through it, the best thing going for it is that it’s not as dark as our last read.’

‘I could hardly put it down once I started reading it.’

‘I really liked the way the author built up suspense before something unpleasant happened, by describing in great detail the scene or action beforehand. I thought it was very effective, as much as a music score can be in a film.’

To find out more about our Book Group, follow our Twitter or Facebook feed, or you can email Lena lena@sfad.org.uk for some more information!