Today marks my first venture into book group reading with Phillippe Claudel's Brodeck's Report which I have read as part of the Not The TV Book Group over on dovergreyreader's blog.
I wrote last week about feeling like I needed to structure my reading a bit better and I'm delighted to say that I managed to finish this book today in good time to join in the discussion over on dgr's blog.
Brodeck's Report is, to be honest, one of those books that I doubt I would have chosen to read if it were not part of the book group's reading list. Set in post war France, Brodeck is given the job by his fellow villager's or writing a report into the visit to their village of a stranger, a man simply known as the Anderer. No one is sure where this flamboyantly dressed man has come from, or quite why he is there, but tensions in the village lead to him being murdered, Brodeck is determined from the first sentence in the book that "he had nothing to do with it", but the reader is left instantly questioning just why he feels the need to protest his innocence so soon.
This isn't a book that I can say that I enjoyed reading, but it is one that I am glad that I did take the time to read. It my mind it fit quite well after so recently reading Suite Francaise and it was very difficult not to draw parallels about life in war time occupied France between the two. If you are interested in following the group's discussion of the book then please do head over to dgr's blog, but do be warned that it does contain spoilers!
As for the whole book group experience – fantastic fun and a great opportunity to discuss the book with others from the comfort of my own sofa! Now I just need to order the rest of the reading list and hope that I get round to reading them all before the discussions!
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