Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Book of Three


I don't know about all of you book-clubbers, but this cold weather was just what the doctor ordered.  What a perfect excuse to curl up on the couch in a fuzzy robe and slippers to read a book.  And what a fun-filled book it was!

This month Melani chose The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander for our book club book.  I had never heard of it before, but apparently it is a very popular fantasy book.  Let me share my experience picking it up from the library with you:

I went to the Orem library with kids in tow.  It was a cold day.  I had kids in tow.  I wanted to get the book and get out.  It was "one of those days."  I headed upstairs to find the book.  A kind gentleman at the counter asked, "Can I help you find something?"

I responded that I was looking for The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander.  The man responded like a child at Christmas.  He sat up straighter in his chair.  He grinned from ear to ear.  He announced (much too loudly for a librarian), "That's my favorite book!  I read it every year!"  He jumped from his desk, practically jogged over to the bookshelf, and snatched the book.  Handing it to me with a sly smile, he said, "Take good care of it."

So I did get in and get out of the library that day, but not with the same grouchy attitude.

We never seem to have difficulty keeping the discussion going in book club.  As we enjoyed the tasty snacks, these are some of the questions we addressed:
1.  Who was your favorite character?  Why?  (Which also lead to some least favorite characters or least favorite attributes of some of the characters.)  What do you think about Eilonwy, Taran, Gwydion, Gurgi, Fflewddur, etc.?
2.  What did you think of the bad guys?  Too many?  Any disconnect?
3.  How did Taran's perception of the other characters change as the story progressed?
4.  What did Taran want at the beginning?  Did he get it or did he come to realize that he wanted something else?
5.  Why did Medwyn ask Taran if he would like to stay?

There were some interesting insights with this book.
-Many Lord of the Rings connections were made.  Did anyone else feel that Gurgi was very Gollum-like?
-Shirley thought that there wasn't enough of a final battle before Taran passed out to satisfy her.  What do you think?
-Laura told us that the author wrote himself into the book as Fflewddur Fflam.  Interesting!  She also mentioned this book is a great read-aloud for kids.
-How old do you think Taran is?  We unofficially agreed that he must be around 14-15.  We came to the conclusion that the author never tells us so that we can picture him in our own way.

It was an enjoyable book and an enjoyable night.

Is anyone else going to read the entire series to find out what Hen-Wen told Gwydion?

Remember to read Charlotte's Rose by A. E. Cannon for next month's meeting.