Literary Spring & Fall, Seasons of Transformation • October 2020

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Help select what we'll read and discuss next!


The topic is Spring & Fall, Seasons of Transformation.

This topic relates to the seasons that bring about dramatic changes, both of which are occurring now (spring on the south side of the world, autumn on the north). It might also have something to do with other transformations or other connotations of the words 'spring' or 'fall'.


Detailed nominating and voting guidelines can be found here. Basically, nominations are open for about four days and each person may nominate up to three literary selections which will go automatically to the vote. Voting by post then opens for four days, and a voter may give each nomination either one or two votes but only has a limited number of votes to use which is equal to the number of nominations minus one. Any questions, feel free to ask.

We hope that you will read the selection with us and join in the discussion.

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Nominations are now complete. Initial voting is closed. Run-off voting is closed. Final results-

• Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P.G. Wodehouse
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 231 Pages . Votes 5 . Run-off 1 . 1939 . England, U.S. & France
  
  
• Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 204 Pages . Votes 5 . Run-off 3 . 1872 . England
  
  
• Following the Equator by Mark Twain
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 432 Pages . Votes 1 . Run-off – . 1897 . U.S.
  
  
• Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 186 Pages . Votes 5 . Run-off 4 . 1977 . England
  
  
• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 213 Pages . Votes 2 . Run-off – . 1922 . England, Australia, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, France & U.S.
  
  
• Harvest by Jim Crace
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 243 Pages . Votes 1 . Run-off – . 2013 . England
  
  
• In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 306 Pages . Votes 2 . Run-off – . 1994 . U.S.
  
  
• Ordinary People by Judith Guest
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 245 Pages . Votes 0 . Run-off – . 1976 . U.S.
  
  
• The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate
  Post . Goodreads . Preview . 181 Pages . Votes 3 . Run-off – . 1980 . England

[AnotherCat]

My nominations, all oldies, are:

Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P. G. Wodehouse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_...the_Springtime
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...the-springtime

Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Greenwood_Tree
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...Greenwood_Tree

Following the Equator (aka More Tramps Abroad) - Mark Twain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Following_the_Equator
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...ng_the_Equator

Under the Greenwood Tree comes with a bonus as it does summer and winter as well.

Following the Equator covers spring and autumn as the sun is directly over the equator at the spring and autumn equinoxes.

[Bookworm_Girl]

My first nomination is A Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym.

From Amazon AU:

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 1977 MAN BOOKER PRIZE

"A spare masterpiece of loneliness in retirement" Telegraph

In 1970s London, Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia work in the same office and suffer the same problem - loneliness. With delightful humour, Pym takes us through their day-to-day existence: their preoccupations, their irritations, their judgements; and, perhaps most keenly felt, their worries about having somehow missed out on life as post-war Britain shifted around them. Deliciously, blackly funny and full of obstinate optimism, Quartet in Autumn shows Barbara Pym's sensitive artistry at its most sparkling. A classic from one of Britain's most loved and highly acclaimed novelists, its world is both extraordinary and familiar, revealing the eccentricities of everyday life.

[Bookworm_Girl]

My second nomination is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim.

From Amazon:

The discreet advertisement in The Times, addressed "To Those who Appreciate Wistaria and Sunshine", offers a small medieval castle for rent, above a bay on the Italian Riviera. Four very different women - the dishevelled and downtrodden Mrs Wilkins, the sad, sweet-faced Mrs Arbuthnot, the formidable widow Mrs Fisher and the ravishing socialite Lady Caroline Dester - are drawn to the shores of the Mediterranean that April. As each, in turn, blossoms in the warmth of the Italian spring and finds their spirits stirring, quite unexpected changes occur.

[Bookworm_Girl]

My third nomination is Harvest by Jim Crace.

From Amazon:

SHORT-LISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
A Christian Science Monitor Best Book of the Year

On the morning after harvest, the inhabitants of a remote English village awaken looking forward to a hard-earned day of rest and feasting at their landowner's table. But the sky is marred by two conspicuous columns of smoke, replacing pleasurable anticipation with alarm and suspicion.

One smoke column is the result of an overnight fire that has damaged the master's outbuildings. The second column rises from the wooded edge of the village, sent up by newcomers to announce their presence. In the minds of the wary villagers a mere coincidence of events appears to be unlikely, with violent confrontation looming as the unavoidable outcome. Meanwhile, another newcomer has recently been spotted taking careful notes and making drawings of the land. It is his presence more than any other that will threaten the village's entire way of life.

In effortless and tender prose, Jim Crace details the unraveling of a pastoral idyll in the wake of economic progress. His tale is timeless and unsettling, framed by a beautifully evoked world that will linger in your memory long after you finish reading.

[sun surfer]

Great nominations so far.

My first nomination is In the Lake of the Woods by Time O’Brien. It’s a literary mystery that seems to have an autumnal feel and the first line of the book is, ‘In September, after the primary, they rented an old yellow cottage in the timber at the edge of Lake of the Woods.’

Goodreads . Preview . 306 Pages . 1994 . U.S.

This riveting novel of love and mystery from the author of The Things They Carried examines the lasting impact of the twentieth century’s legacy of violence and warfare, both at home and abroad. When long-hidden secrets about the atrocities he committed in Vietnam come to light, a candidate for the U.S. Senate retreats with his wife to a lakeside cabin in northern Minnesota. Within days of their arrival, his wife mysteriously vanishes into the watery wilderness.

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Second is Ordinary People by Judith Guest. I love the film based on it, though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. It begins on the 30th of September so right in line with this time of year.

Goodreads . Preview . 245 Pages . 1976 . U.S.

The Jarrets are a typical American family. Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain...and ultimate healing.

Seventeen-year-old Conrad Jarrett returns to his parents' home and tries to build a new life for himself after spending eight months in a mental institution for attempted suicide.

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Finally I’ll offer The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate. I think it was nominated some years ago as well and it seems to fit this topic really well. This is set in the autumn of 1913.

Goodreads . Preview . 181 Pages . 1980 . England

It is the autumn of 1913. Sir Randolph Nettleby has assembled a brilliant array of guests at his Oxfordshire estate for the biggest hunt of the season. An army of gamekeepers, beaters, and servants has rehearsed the intricate age-old ritual; the gentlemen are falling into the prescribed mode of fellowship and sporting rivalry, the ladies intrigued by the latest gossip and fashion. Everything about this splendid weekend would seem a perfect consummation of the pleasures afforded the privileged in Edwardian England. And yet it is not: the moral and social code of this group is not so secure as it appears. Competition beyond the bounds of sportsmanship, revulsion at the slaughter of the animals, anger at the inequities of class--these forces are about to rise up and engulf the assured social peace, a peace that can last only a brief while longer. In imagining Sir Randolph's shooting party, wrote The Spectator, "Miss Colegate has found a perfect metaphor for the passing of a way of life."

[Bookworm_Girl]

These are all great nominations from everyone. This was a good theme.

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Nominations are complete and voting is now open!

Voting will close exactly four days from this post.

Each person has EIGHT votes to use.

[astrangerhere]

I will give two votes each to:

• Wodehouse
• Hardy
• Pym
• Colegate

[AnotherCat]

My votes are:

2 Uncle Fred in the Springtime - P. G. Wodehouse
2 Quartet in Autumn - Barbara Pym
2 Under the Greenwood Tree - Thomas Hardy
1 In the Lake of the Woods - Tim O’Brien
1 The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim

Thanks for the interesting nominations.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I give 1 vote each to:

Uncle Fred in the Springtime by P.G. Wodehouse
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
Following the Equator by Mark Twain
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Harvest by Jim Crace
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien
The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate

[sun surfer]

Oops, I thought I had until later today to vote and am just seeing now I missed the deadline. I was planning on enjoying reading the last few previews I hadn't yet to decide on my votes, but oh well. My consolation is I'm almost sure I would've spread my votes out among eight and that the ones in the run-off would be the same either way. My excuse for the mix-up is that my birthday was on the 8th and I've been busy the last few days and not checking in.

Aaaaanyway, let me get the run-off started...

[sun surfer]

First round voting is complete and we have a three-way tie between:

-Uncle Fred in the Springtime
-Under the Greenwood Tree
-Quartet in Autumn


Run-off voting is now open!

Voting will close exactly TWO DAYS from this post.

Each person has TWO votes to use.

If the run-off ends in a tie, the selection that received all its votes first will win.