Whodunit Book Club - October 27, 2009

A lively group of seventeen attended this evening's Whodunit Book Club. We welcomed one new member.

Pam's 'magical question' this evening: "Do you find that the length of a book influences/impacts upon your reading choice?"
Most ascertained that the size of a book made little to no difference in whether they would read it or not. Some commented that if they were really pressed for time, then they would steer clear of a lengthy book. Some said that the size of the print was more of a factor than the number of pages. The comment was made that their opinion depended upon genre. For instance a mystery should be no longer than about 350 pages while a historical novel could be up to 1000 pages and not be too long.

The book discussed this month was "Talking to Wendigo" by John C. Goodman. A first novel by a Canadian author, the book was generally liked by the majority of members.
Many commented that the imagery was outstanding with wonderfully vivid descriptions. The characters were well fleshed out and the First Nations lore was well depicted. The weakness of the plot was what let the book down for a lot of us. Repetition of known facts (especially concerning the gold scam conspirators) was annoying. The placement of the body was disappointing. Why if the murderer took the trouble to move it, didn't he move it farther away? Far enough that the smell of decomposition would not alert anyone to its whereabouts. The 'mystery' was not the book's strength.
The protagonist William was a likeable character, though he seemed directionless and thus easily led. He felt he had wasted his life and that he was a failure. It was only when he retired and moved to the remote woodland location that he became more introspective and seemed to grow emotionally. The touch of romance at the end of the book was satisfying.
Most of the Whodunit members agreed that they would read another if the author decides to turn it into a series. The vivid characters and descriptions were enough to make up for the plot weaknesses. Also, with a second novel perhaps the protagonist would 'grow' as would perhaps the author's handling of plot.
Due to Pam's generousity, the end of the club brought the 'free books' draw as per usual. Tonight's winners were: Carolyn, Lynne, Brian and Elizabeth.
Pam held a second draw for six copies of Anne Murray's new book "All of Me".
The winners of this draw were: Elizabeth, Nancy, Laird, Joanne, Jean and Marilyn.