2019 Cliff Dwellers Book Club List

CLIFF DWELLERS BOOK CLUB READING LIST (Balance of 2019)

June 22-Time for Frankie Coolin-Bill Granger
July 20- The Pit-Frank Norris
August 24-Compulsion-Meyer Levin
September 28-Jennie Gerhardt –Theodore Dreiser
October 26-Chicago Renaissance- Liesl Olson (the author will be joining us)
November 23-The Old-Time Saloon-George Ade (get the edition with an introduction and notes by Bill Savage. Mr. Savage will be joining us)
Cliff Dwellers and non-Cliff Dwellers are all welcome at our Chicago-themed book club. We meet at 11:00 a.m. at the Cliff Dwellers, 200 S. Michigan, 22nd Floor. There is no cost to attend. The moderator for the book club is Richard Reeder, who can be contacted at richardreeder34@gmail.com

Anna Burns Wins Man Booker Prize for “Milkman”

I must admit that I was surprised this past Tuesday when I learned that Anna Burns won the 2018 Man Booker Prize for her novel “Milkman.” Before you select it as a choice for your book clubs, please be advised that it is a difficult read. I struggled mightily getting into the flow of the narrative, finally becoming deeply engaged in the story about halfway through the book.
“Milkman” is the tale of a young woman embroiled in the intrigues of Belfast in The Troubles of the 1970s. It is told compellingly in her voice in a Kafkaesque narrative. Obscurity of place and name is intentional. The setting of the book, unmentioned Belfast, is a dark and confining place, a city of intrigue and perpetual conflict, where neutrality in the struggle is not an option for its residents.
Anna Burns becomes the first author from Northern Ireland to win the coveted Booker. “Milkman” will not be available in the States until December 11th.