The University Friends Circle Book Club usually meets on the first Thursday of the month at 3:30 p.m. With the upcoming closure of Barnes & Noble in Merced, the May meeting will be at the Merced County Library.
Common Interest Committee Co-Chairs Pauline Cuchna (samnilla@sbcglobal.net) and Beth Kirchhoff (bethkirchhoff72@gmail.com) invite all UFC members to join them for robust discussion each month. Book Club members rotate responsibility for book selection. Our next meeting, in which we will discuss the April book, will be Thursday, May 2, 2024.
The April book selection is The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai.
This booker prize-winning novel tells us the story of Biju, who jumps from one job to another in the USA, struggling to survive as an illegal immigrant. Sai is another character in this novel, living in Kalimpong, India. The narration vacillates between New York and India. It is a story of joy and despair. Desai's characters face numerous choices that majestically illuminate the consequences of colonialism as it collides with the modern world. (Goodreads.com)
Previous titles of this academic year:
- March 2024: The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon and The Hungry Season, by Lisa M. Hamilton
- February 2024: The Women, by Kristin Hannah
- January 2024: The Edge of Lost, by Kristina McMorris
- December 2023: Malice Aforethought, by Avree Kelly Clark.
- November 2023: The Prospectors, by Ariel Dhanikian
- October 2023: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- September 2023: The Immortal Irishman, by Timothy Egan
