Social Committee – Summer Book Club
June 27, 2022
Join us for the months of July and August, as we discuss the following books:
July
Albert Camus’s novel
“The Stranger”
Moderated by Andrew Savour
July 28th at 12pm in the Virtual Library
The classic literary masterpiece The Stranger is a story about an Algerian, Meursault, the titular character who commits a murder after attending his mother’s funeral. His understanding of the world, his emotional spectrum, and the general absurdities of the time all combine to form a compelling read.
The story is aptly divided into two riveting sections, both told from the perspective of Meursault, who gives us his views before the murder in the first section and later walks us through his state of mind after the murder in the second section. The two parts in this thrilling novel encompass the protagonist’s mindset through the ordeal of grieving for his mother’s death while also coming face to face with his own moral compass for committing a murder.
The Stranger is often cited as one of the finest examples of the philosophy of the absurd. The sense of culture and various human values interwoven during the turbulent pre-modern era is also best captured in the contents of this novel.
August
Karen Connelly’s novel
“Touch the Dragon: A Thai Journal”
Moderated by Lisa Ward
August 25th at 12pm in the Virtual Library
At the age of 17, the adventure-seeking Calgary teenager went to Thailand on a Rotary exchange program and her life changed forever. Twenty-four years later, Connelly is still travelling and writing, inspiring the world with her stories.
Through vivid imagery, humour and careful observation of the families, school friends and Buddhist rituals around her, Connelly brings to life the small village in northern Thailand where she stayed for a year. Initially homesick and frustrated by the habits and lifestyle of the gentle but patriarchal Thais, Connelly begins to view herself as one of them by the end of her stay. The idea of returning to Canada becomes terrifying and strange because she has become so accustomed to her new community and the Thai way of life.
Put together from her journals written at the time, Connelly’s to-the-moment chronicling of her experience reveals a momentous growing experience in the heart and mind of a young woman.
