Scarsdale Adult School Catalog Spring/Summer 2024
BookTalk with Harriet Sobol BookTalk introduces readers to a carefully chosen, provocative selection of novels for reading and informal discussion, considering the author’s writing techniques and the character’s personal journeys. Readings include translations of books from other countries and cultures in the search for fictions that illuminate the lives and understanding of those from all across the globe. HARRIET LANGSAM SOBOL is a teacher and author of books for children and young adults. She has written essays for the New York Times and other publications, and directs writing workshops. She has led this popular book discussion class for many years.
Bournville (2022) by Jonathan Coe This wickedly funny portrait of postwar Britain traces one family's odyssey through four generations from VE Day to the COVID-19 pandemic. Central to that journey is Bournville, the docile village established by the Cadbury family to house the workers in their chocolate factory. This bittersweet book spans 75 years and a large cast of characters, capturing the evolution of mores and values within the family and also reflected in British society through snapshots of communal experiences that include Queen Elizabeth's coronation, the England-West Germany World Cup final in 1966, the death of Princess Diana, and the pandemic lockdown. Wednesday, March 20 • 1:00pm-2:30pm • Zoom • Course 12381 • $30
Held (2024) by Anne Michaels This historical fiction spans four generations of memorable characters. The novel opens in a battlefield during World War I and bounces back and forth in time episodically. Memories, dreams, and supernatural visitations infuse the narrative that juxtaposes inner thoughts with descriptive images. Known best for her 1996 debut novel Fugitive Pieces , Michaels employs poetic strategies in this novel of love, remembrance, and sacrifice. Wednesday, April 10 • 1:00pm-2:30pm • Zoom • Course 12507 • $30
North Woods (2023) by Daniel Mason The focus of this genre-bending fiction is a yellow cabin in the woods of western Massachusetts and its inhabitants over the span of four centuries, as told through twelve chapters that correspond roughly to the twelve months of the year. The humble house serves as the home to young lovers who absconded from a Puritan colony, an English soldier who abandoned the battlefield to grow apples, a pair of spinster twins, a schizophrenic, a crime reporter, a lovelorn painter, a conman, a panther, a beetle, and other myriad characters and creatures over the seasonal cycles of history. Many come to violent ends, as do the beloved trees of the forest, in this historical fiction in which the past haunts the present. Wednesday, May 15 • 1:00pm-2:30pm • Zoom • Course 12508 • $30
www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org • (914) 723-2325
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