Rant: Our book club meeting in Denver last month almost broke us over 'The Road'

We had a group of 12 people, and the debate about Cormac McCarthy's book got so heated that two members, including my friend Carla, said they were quitting for good. It started with a simple question about hope in the story and spiraled into a 45-minute argument where people were almost yelling. Has anyone else had a book club fight that nearly ended the whole group?

4 comments

4 Comments

violar3516d ago

Been there. That book is a grenade with the pin pulled. You need ground rules before you even open it. Next time, make everyone write down their one big question on a scrap of paper first. Forces people to think, not just react. We did that after our fight over the boy's fate and it saved us. Someone still has to be the moderator to cut people off when voices get loud.

the_wendy16d ago

My old book club in Seattle had a similar blowout over "The Road". We spent a whole hour just arguing about the canned peaches scene and what it meant for the man's character. It got so tense the host had to pause for a wine refill before we could even talk about the ending.

the_diana16d ago

Mark's right, I used to think the ending was just bleak.

mark_carr716d ago

The Road" is a book built to start fights. We had a screaming match over whether the ending was hopeful or just cruel. It took three meetings and a lot of beer to get past it.