BARNETT'S BOOK CLUB
Barnett's Book Club is a comfortable, convivial conversation about books, welcoming casual and committed readers alike.
Attendance is limited by space only and is free if you buy the book at Barnett's.
Register by e-mail or speak to us in the bookshop. Dates and other details are below.
Weds 27th March 2024 - Old God's Time
We are excited to launch the Barnett's Book Club with a discussion about Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Old God's Time. While we leap into the unknown with this inaugural event, we take comfort from the fact that we loved this beautiful, haunting novel from one of our favourite contemporary authors and we're sure there is so much to get out of it in discussion.
Tom Kettle, a retired policeman, and widower, is settling into the quiet of his new home in Dalkey, overlooking the Irish sea. His solitude is interrupted when two former colleagues turn up at his door to ask about a traumatic, decades-old case. A case that Tom never quite came to terms with. And his peace is further disturbed when his new neighbour, a mysterious young mother, asks for his help.
What did you make of the novel's narrative voice and third-person presentation? Should we question the reliability of the narrator? What part does the landscape play in the way the novel unfolds? Is Tom truly "the orphan of his former happiness"? ...bring your questions, comments and ideas!
List opens on Thursday 14th March at 9.30am
Weds 24th April - Book Choice TBC
We plan to set out the books to be discussed at the next two or three book club events well ahead of the date of the meetings - but, since are just starting up, we have decided to wait until the first meeting before deciding on the book to be discussed at April's meeting.
Some possible ideas are:
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In Memoriam (Alice Winn)
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Winter in Sokcho (Elisa Shua Dusapin)
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Birnam Wood (Eleanor Catton)
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Western Lane (Chetna Maroo)
- The House of Doors (Tan Twang Eng)
Event Details - General Information
Location
Barnett's Book Club meets in the event room "Upstairs at Barnett's", above the shop.
Time & Dates
Doors open at 6.15pm so we can start the discussion at 6.30pm. We will aim to wrap up within an hour, finishing around 7.30pm.
The book club will meet every 4 to 5 weeks, generally on a Wednesday. The next dates are:
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Wednesday 27 March - Booking List opens on Thursday 14th March at 9.30am
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Wednesday 24 April
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Wednesday 29 May
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Wednesday 3 July
Membership & registration
There is no recurring "membership" - you must sign up for each event separately. This enables everybody to have the opportunity of joining the discussion and also allows for inevitable diary clashes and holidays etc.
To ensure we can have a good conversation as a group - and within the constraints of our event room - numbers will be limited each month.
While you can register interest in attending at any time, we will open the booking list for the next Book Club event two weeks before the event date. In the event that we are over-subscribed when the list opens, we will select attendees by random ballot and add unsuccessful members to a waiting list. Thereafter, we will fill the list on a "first come, first served" basis or add to the waiting list, if full.
Entry price and free entry
When you register for an event, you will be charged a £5 attendance fee. However, the £5 can be offset against the price of the book if you buy the book for that month's discussion from us at Barnett's. In that case, attendance at the event is free.
Further information
Subscribe to our newsletter for news of when the event is launched and the registration list will open. Or drop in to see us or email (enquiries@barnettsbooks.co.uk), telephone (01892 783566) or contact us via the website (click here) if you would like to learn more.
Sebastian Barry
Old God's Time
27 March 2024
The inaugural meeting of the Barnett's Book Club opens with a discussion of Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Old God's Time.