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The British Council reading groups meet in Berlin in our partner bookshops and libraries.
We will be discussing Inheritance by Nicholas Shakespeare in February at the Wed, Thur, Fri groups.
Choice of Dates for February meetings are:
On Monday Feb 27th at 19.30 we're discussing Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald - please contact janbild@hotmail.com for details.
Perhaps one of the most revered works of fiction in the twentieth-century, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a modern classic about integrity, courage, and bucking the system. It recounts the story of a reform school cross-country runner who seizes the perfect opportunity to defy the authority that governs his life. It is a pure masterpiece. Beloved for its lean prose, unforgettable protagonists, and real-life wisdom, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner captured the voice of a generation, and its poignant and empowering life lessons will continue to captivate and entertain readers for generations to come. 
Inheritance by Nicholas Shakespeare Inheritance Reviews On the Battersea Reach of the Thames, a mixed bag of eccentrics live in houseboats. Belonging to neither land nor sea, they belong to one another. There is Maurice, a homosexual prostitute; Richard, a buttoned-up ex-navy man; but most of all there's Nenna, the struggling mother of two wild little girls. How each of their lives complicates the others is the stuff of this perfect little novel.
Reviews
"The novelistic equivalent of a Turner watercolour" (Washington Post).
"This is an astonishing book. Hardly more than 50,000 words, it is written with a manic economy that makes it seem even shorter, and with a tamped-down force that continually explodes in a series of exactly controlled detonations. Offshore is a marvellous achievement: strong, supple, humane, ripe, generous and graceful." -- The London Times, Bernard Levin
"Reading a Penelope Fitzgerald novel," observed Sebastian Faulks, "is like being taken for a ride in a peculiar kind of car. Everything is of top quality - the engine, the coachwork and the interior all fill you with confidence. Then, after a mile or so, someone throws the steering-wheel out of the window."
"Her novels are elegant, intelligent, and utterly idiosyncratic. Every fragment of her work is worth reading." Guardian
There are currently six British Council reading groups in Berlin- reading and discussing books in English. They are made up of people who love to read and discuss books. Here is how they work. Members choose a book for discussion, everyone reads it and the group then meets to talk about it. The meetings are friendly and informal and are held monthly. Each group has a facilitator who helps to guide the discussion.
Regular meetings will be held about once a month at times convenient to the members of the group. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL THERE BE IN A GROUP? Large numbers make it difficult for everyone to contribute so groups will be made up of ten to twelve people. IF I JOIN A GROUP, WHERE WILL I BE ABLE TO BUY THE BOOKS? We will tell you where you can buy the books when you join the group. CAN ANYONE JOIN THE GROUP? Yes. However, the discussions will be done in English and so you need to be able to express yourself in the language to be able to take part. I'M INTERESTED IN TAKING PART, BUT I DO NOT LIVE NEAR ONE OF THE CITIES MENTIONED ABOVE. WHAT CAN I DO? You can join other readers worldwide on the enCompassCulture website. The site is produced by the British Council Film and Literature Department to provide a virtual space for Reading Groups around the world to meet, discuss books and talk to authors. It includes the best contemporary UK and Commonwealth literature (fiction, poetry, drama, auto/biography, travel and science). |
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