TMoT Spoiler Thread - Peter Lieder

[jordajl0]

I'm really enjoying this book but it's kind of driving me nuts that the author is trying to make us believe that Peter "Pudding and Pie" Lieder is a ladies man. No way - no how.

[Carter]

But you're having an easier time with the pyrokinesis?

[JeffKamin]

300 pages in so far and hope to finish tonight before sleep.
Then let's talk.

[jordajl0]

Yeah - I would totally buy pyrokinesis and Glimmey in the Lake over Peter Lieder being a ladies man any day.

[JeffKamin]

I'm done and ready. First off...Ginger and Cinnamon.

No, you start.

[jennieh]

I believe Peter as a ladies' man, but not in the traditional sense. In the way that nice guys don't get acknowledged until the women are older and start to appreciate them. They live in a small town, they sleep with Zeke and guys of the like who go through a bunch of women, and then you realize the nice guy is where it is at.

Thoughts on the ending? - It gave me warm fuzzies about a book I was only luke-warm about the rest of the time.
_________________
Jennie

[JeffKamin]

I agree on the ending. Thought it was a three-part strong ending.

I predicted who the father was pretty early. Anyone else?

[Beth]

I hate to say it, but I thought the ending was weak. I thought that the source of the illegitimate ancestor became obvious early on, and after that it barely mattered to me who the actual descendant and father turned out to be because I didn't think the present-day characters were very thoroughly developed.

I did feel a little fuzzy knowing that a new, bitty Glimmy had entered the world, but I felt like so much of the plot development was forced that the symbolism meant less to me than it could have.

Speaking of Peter Lieder--I thought the rest of the male characters in Willie's life were fairly unbelievable, as well. Zeke transforms from the stereotypical blue-collar slob into the stereotypical blue-collar stud in one summer of trying to take better care of himself? Primus transforms from a frumpy, fumbling professor into a ruggedly handsome cad by growing a beard? No. I don't believe any of it.

[JeffKamin]

A short story by Lauren Groff:

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200608/love-story

[Carter]

[Levi C.]

Finished the book just in time. Generally liked it, but I agree the ghost leading her by the hand was incredibly disappointing. All the supernatural stuff was unnecessary and unbelievable...

...which does not include Glimmey, who was awesome. I loved the coda. Anyone know the song "Tianchi Lake" by the Mountain Goats? Appropriate and lovely tune about a lake monster.

[JeffKamin]

Overall I liked it, too. I would say it was a 3 or even 3 1/2 of 5 stars. I have some problems with it, but they are overshadowed by the ambition and the fun present here. So far the people disliking it have been more vocal, so I hope we can hear both sides tonight and have fun. It is our anniversary afterall...

[JeffKamin]

My monthly blog post on our event is up to read at:
http://www.bookclubgirl.com/

Monstrous Anniversary

Books & Bars celebrated 5 years this month! Our 58th book was The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff. I was nervous going into the night’s discussion having read some grumblings on our forum (http://booksandbars.com/forum/) that it was not one of our better picks.

OK, so I was right…about the book not being well received but I was wrong to worry about it. It turned out to be one of our funniest and most enjoyable discussions. When you have references to bad David Spade films (Joe Dirt - but really, isn’t there only one good David Spade film, Tommy Boy?), the music of Prodigy, Faulkner, practical jokes mistaken for ghosts, and your bookseller/sponsor accidentally sitting on this piece of anniversary cake…how can you go wrong?

I was a little surprised by the somewhat negative reaction Monsters received. I don’t usually prefer a book review to be reduced to a simple 5 star rating, but with the advent of social networking book sites (you’ll find Books & Bars on Shelfari.com, Goodreads.com and Facebook) we’ve come to accept, nay, expect a book to be rated. I’d actually rate Groff’s debut about 3 – 3 ½ stars of 5. Many of our members would have rated it lower, though about 1/4 of the 100 people in attendance agreed with me.

I admired Groff’s ambitiousness but others felt it was her downfall. She may have tried to do too much in the historical saga with too many narrators. Our group didn’t like or believe most of these characters except for favorites, Charlotte and Cinnamon (pyrokinetic and poisoner) and the monster in the lake, Glimmey.

We wanted more of the monster, Glimmey. So much so that one member pulled out a homemade sign during the discussion and held it up in the back of the theater. (photo attached) More than a few of us did love the ending, especially the last few pages, but it didn’t seem enough to redeem the book entirely.

To give you an idea of our group’s sensibilities, The Monsters of Templeton was deemed to be too precious or twee for us. We’re looking for a little more darkness with our humor, a little more sharp edges, less neat and tidy corners. An example of a homecoming story we liked better was The Epicure’s Lament by Kate Christensen.

Feel free to recommend something. http://booksandbars.com/books.html
I’m itching and anxious for a very well received book after two in a row that haven’t been up to our usual standards. Will I get it with a classic poli-sci-fi,
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin? Check back here next month to find out.

Join our Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=49159141237

Jeff Kamin - Moderator, Books & Bars