The Moon and Sixpence - Durham Book Club

Lud-in-the-Mist is a 1926 fantasy novel by Hope Mirrlees, set in the orderly town of Lud-in-the-Mist, which borders the magical land of Fairyland. The story follows Mayor Nathaniel Chanticleer as he confronts the forbidden fairy fruit smuggled into his town, forcing him to reconcile his rational world with the encroaching magic and challenge his society's denial of the fantastic. It's considered a classic of the fantasy genre, praised for its rich prose, imaginative storytelling, and exploration of themes like reality, imagination, and the human condition.

What is the power of art in the face of death? In The Art Lover Carole Maso has created an elegant and moving narrative about a woman experiencing (and reliving) the most painful transitions of her life. Caroline, the novel's protagonist, returns to New York after the death of her fatherostensibly to wrap things up and take care of necessary "business"where her memory and imagination conspire to lay before her all her griefs and joys in a rebellious progression. In different voices, employing a collage-like fragmentation, Maso gently unfolds The Art Lover in much the same way the fragile and prehistoric fiddlehead fern unfolds throughout the novel, bringing with subtle grace the ever-entangled feelings of grief and love into full and tender view. Various illustrations throughout.

Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons explores generational differences and their tragic consequences. The story centers around Arkady and Bazarov, two young men who return home from college to a world that has remained static. They have changed but must now redefine old relationships, both their friendship with one another and their relationships with their fathers. The main conflict of the novel is between the nihilistic Bazarov, who espouses a strictly materialistic attitude toward life, and Pavel Petrovich Kirsanov, an uncle of Arkady’s, who upholds the aristocratic tradition in the face of Bazarov’s ridicule.

Fathers and Sons originally aroused controversy in Russia, with both radicals and conservatives disturbed by the portrait of Bazarov - an energetic, cynical, and self-assured nihilist who repudiates the romanticism of his elders.

Iris Murdoch's richly peopled novel revolves round a happily married couple, Kate and Octavian, and the friends of all ages attached to their household in Dorset. The novel deals with love in its two aspects, the self-gratifying and the impersonal; - The Nice And The Good - as they are embodied in a fascinating array of paired characters. The Nice And The Good leads through stress and terror to a joyous and compassionate Midsummer Nights Dream conclusion, in which the couples all sort themselves out neatly and omnia vincit amor.