A Closer Look Book Club meets around the Persian rug in the Dorothy Rubel Room at the Poetry Center, and it is free and open to the public. Copies of books are available at the Poetry Center’s gift shop. No sign up is necessary; you're welcome to drop in for just one, but you may find you look forward to attending every month!
We're currently reading books that explore the themes of revolution, apocalypse, regeneration, and rebirth. Our varied reading list includes works that are satiric and poetic, furious and amused, and violent and beautiful. As we read these important works of fiction, we’ll encounter opportunities to consider the many endings and beginnings currently taking place all over the world.
Fools of Fortune by William Trevor
In this award-winning novel, an informer’s body is found on the estate of a wealthy Irish family shortly after the First World War, and an appalling cycle of revenge is set in motion. Led by a zealous sergeant, the Black and Tans set fire to the family home, and only young Willie and his mother escape alive. Fatherless, Willie grows into manhood while his alcoholic mother’s bitter resentment festers. And though he finds love, Willie is unable to leave the terrible injuries of the past behind.