Well-Kitchen Well-Read Book Club

Our October 2025 meeting at the Wonderful Well-Kitchen Cafe

The themes for the September meeting were Madness & Memories. What better way to start a stormy autumn afternoon than sitting in the Well-Kitchen Cafe eating lovely food and discussing literature? Thank you for always making us so welcome, Amita.

This month we launched our shared book ideas. We now have a second Random Selection Box. We shall pick one title each month and the person who chose it will share the reasons they shared it. This month it was Maggie’s choice of Animal Farm by George Orwell. She chose it because Orwell’s ‘fable’ has much to say about the current state of our world.

• The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. The Days of Abandonment tells the devastating story of an Italian woman suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. It charts her mental breakdown and ultimate recovery.
• The Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Reece. A prequel to Jane Eyre exploring the reasons why Antoinette Cosway ends up as the mad woman in the attic, Bertha Mason. A compelling and painful tale of deceit, money grabbing and cruelty.
• The Island by Victoria Hislop. Set in Crete, this is a dramatic tale of four generations, illicit love, violence and leprosy, from the thirties, through the war, to the present day.
• The Magician by Colm Toibin. A deep dive into German author Thomas Mann's inner life, his relationships, and the era he lived through.
• The Children Act by Ian McEwan. The Children Act explores the moral dilemma faced by a Judge weighing the complexities of the law when religious freedom and a child's right to life clash.
• Written in Bone by Sue Black. Our bones are the silent witnesses to the lives we lead, our stories marbled into their marrow. Forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation.
• The Woman in White (1859) by Wilkie Collins. An influential Victorian sensation novel, considered a foundational work of both detective and suspense fiction. It follows the mysterious encounter between Walter Hartright, a drawing master, and a woman dressed in white, drawing him into a complex plot of deceit, crime, and family secrets.
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath chronicles the mental breakdown of Esther Greenwood, a talented college student who wins a summer internship at a fashion magazine in 1950s New York City. Disillusioned by societal expectations for women and the superficiality of her surroundings, Esther's mental health deteriorates.The title the "bell jar" symbolises her feelings of isolation, suffocation, and detachment from the world.
• Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. As she begins to discover the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say.

Next Meeting: Saturday 1st November at 1.30

Randomly Generated Themes: Communication & Rebellion

If you would like to know more talk to Amita or Sue on suzeou@gmail.com.

 “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss