January 2014 Book "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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| Butler Women of Wisdom's 2013 Donation to "Austin's Playroom" |
Hi Everyone,
Let
me be candid! (Those of you who attended the January book club - Barb K.,
Cheryl, Christine, Lori, Sharon, and me - all know that I tested “candor” on my
faction exam!) I was nervous about attending the meeting last Tuesday night. I
thought to myself, “I recommended this book,” Divergent by Veronica
Roth. “I am really going to hear their complaints: ‘another dud chosen by
Tammy; we are never going to let her pick another title that we have to bore
ourselves to death with again.’” I walked into the public library prepared for
the worst.
I
met Christine and Barb in the library’s foyer and subtly asked what they
thought of the book before confronting the whole group. Their answers nearly
knocked me over. Both of them actually liked Divergent! Wow, all my
fretting and ominous visualization of the impending book discussion was
certainly not necessary. Once we gathered in the meeting room, even Sharon
supported Christine and Barb’s opinion of Divergent. Still more
astounding, Lori actually read the book (well most of it -80%) and liked it,
too! Cheryl was on the fence.
Despite
the pro-Divergent outcome, my rush to blurt out all the reasons why I
hated the book was overly “candid.” I came off as arrogant in my judgments and
insensitive to the views of the majority. Please forgive me, all of you. Your
opinions are duly noted. As you explained your attachment to the main character
of the book, Tris, and her family, I know I was tactless in my response.
Because of my need for more character building, I was unsympathetic to Tris’s
kidnapping and the murder of Tris’s mother. I could have cared less if either
one of them lived or died. Pretty candid, huh! However, maybe Roth did a better
job than I previously thought on presenting a probable Dauntless faction theme
“death is meaningless.”
I
know, I know, I was overanalyzing the book for the subliminal messages it was
sending to our teens, the target audience for the book’s sales, and the
students whom I teach. I kept imagining more teens rushing to tattoo parlors as
they pictured Tris’s latest virginal skin defilement. It literally sickened me
to think about it.
I
know, I know, I was offended by the violent references to fighting among the
Dauntless candidates. The acceptability of tortuous and sometimes fatal combat
among the young members of the book’s dystopian society reminded me of the
fight clubs my students have chatted about in class. These fight clubs exist
and are operated underground. They are a draw for rebellious teens and young
adults in our own Butler, PA. If you are not familiar with this new aggressive
pastime in our communities, watch this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx3ZYme7R10
On
behalf of the majority of our group, however, and after our discussion, I was
enlightened to some of Divergent’s more redeeming qualities. I know, I
know, it will look great on the big screen. Yes, I can see it now; the scenes
of Ferris wheel escapes, freefalling from buildings, jumping off trains,
eye-gouging, and yes, maybe tattooing, will make for great special effects. I
will be the first to buy a ticket at the Regal Cinema when the movie opens!
Well, maybe not the first.
But
can I express my “candor” again? I just think that in an attempt for Hollywood
to keep the bank rolling with income from the popularity of movies like The
Hunger Games, they went looking for a copycat trilogy. Divergent is
it. Veronica Roth is only a 22 year old neophyte writer who simply wrote a book
with the popular dystopian genre. She did what many entrepreneurs do; she took
advantage of marketing trends. Divergent is by no means classic
literature, but it is what it is. It is simply a product of our pop-culture.
Good or bad, it is here to stay. Hell, just as tattooing is here to stay until
Generation-X and the Millenials see the faded figures under their aging
wrinkled skin, just as reality TV is here with us until we someday recognize
the stupidity of network programming, and just as we are stuck with celebrities
the likes of Miley Cyrus, Alec Baldwin, and Snooki crowding the front pages of
grocery story rags, we are stuck with books like Divergent.
I
mean no offense to anyone with my review of Roth’s book; I am just being
myself, candor! As most of you tested “divergent”, I’m sure that you are more
readily accepting of people with intense personality types. “I am what I am,”
as Popeye once said. If anything, this book as given me a deeper understanding
of myself and my sometimes not-so-endearing trait, candor. I am just very
thankful that I was not accosted for recommending Divergent. I came
loaded with my own supply of self-degradation for selecting the title. It was a
relief to know that many of you found the book entertaining and not a complete
waste of your time. Whew!
Looking
to February, our title The Red Tent by Anita Diamont should prove to be
a worthy read. As most of you know, this book has been on our potential reading
list for quite some time, but it has been pushed aside because of the
intimidating number of pages, 352. Well, in comparison to Divergent’s
487 agonizing pages, The Red Tent should read like a breeze! Also, we
will be reading the book on its 10th year in print, so new copies
are anniversary editions. It just feels like the time is right to read this
epic about the lives of Biblical women who reside in a “Red Tent”, a place
where they share all things unique to womanhood and, most importantly, the
reality of daily life as a woman during their historical era. We will meet at
Panera Bread in Butler on Tuesday, February 18, at 6 PM for our discussion.
As
for our book club charity update, we did not collect donations at the January
meeting, so we will make up the difference in February. It is very exciting to
see the picture (above) of our 2013 charity donation to Austin’s Playroom, a
foundation for children initiated by former Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux, http://www.mariolemieux.org/main/about-us/foundation-history.
It is clear that Cheryl stretched our dollar considerably from the amount of
books she was able to purchase. Thank you, Cheryl!
We
owe our thanks to today’s snow day that I was afforded the occasion to write
this letter in a more timely fashion than usual. This gives everyone a little
over 3 weeks to read The Red Tent. I hope to see you in February for
another “candid” discussion!
Your
friend in reading,
Tammy
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