Well this one divided the group! It was a small but perfectly formed group of readers who got together to discuss the latest reading group title- Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver. Billed as a work of genius, the group either disagreed or agreed wholeheartedly with that accolade. Telling the dark story of a spate of unexplained suicides linked to a cult, the book is written in an unusual style. Each chapter takes a different point of view, with no clear protagonist to start, and with the policeman who might crack the case only briefly mentioned in the first part of the novel. The descriptions in the novel are brutal, stark and not for the faint hearted, but they fit perfectly in this brutal, stark book.
Some of our readers felt the subject matter was too troubling, and yearned for a lighter, happier read. Others felt that despite the subject matter it fell a little flat and was slow going. We all saw that the novel was quite clever, and no one guessed the twist, at least not in its entirety.
Those that enjoyed the book (although enjoy feels like the wrong word- perhaps those who were gripped by it?) were captivated by the themes of what’s going wrong in modern society, and the writing style of the author. The anonymity of the suicide victims (we learn very few names) contrasted with their frailties and issues being used to describe them. Those who were positive about the book were tantalised by a few red herrings, and felt the graphic descriptions of the suicides added to the almost clinical nature of the story.
On the whole our readers wouldn’t recommend the book, or at least would be careful who they did pass it on to. That said, at least one of our number has already purchased another book by the author, so it was a hit with some!
For details of our next reading group click here. We haven’t chosen a book for us all to read this month, instead we’re asking our readers to bring along their summer or holiday read and tell us all about it. We’re looking forward to adding to our “to read” lists! Look out for the time and date and come along. If you’d like to donate your latest summer read to our Time Out book collection, we’re always grateful to receive new additions. The collection is completely donated by our fantastic users, and is free for all of our GEH colleagues to use.