A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
As the Page Turners gathered for their final meeting of 2018, they received a warm welcome from their hostess and discussions were started whilst sipping mulled wine or buck’s fizz. The book on offer in December, A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks was not so warmly received by the majority of the book club members.
A Week in December is set in London, over a period of one week in December. It is a story of contemporary London and introduces many characters and themes including an examination of Islam, football in London, drugs, financial dealings and journalism. Phew!
The mince pies that were available did not sweeten the comments that were made, most of which were unfavourable. The story was considered too long, with particularly boring descriptions of the financial plotting of one of the characters, John Veals. It was felt that the book did not reflect the characters and lives of real people in the city of London. Most people wanted to finish the book, but found the ending a disappointment. The overall score was 6. After the discussion, the group got on with the real business of the evening: pulling crackers, sharing cracker jokes, eating festive food and discussions about the Archers.
Happy reading in 2019….and remember, ” the more you read, the more you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr Seuss. So. off you go!