2014 April meeting - Degrees of Separation

This evening we met at Denise's home, comfy and cosy against the change of daylight saving.  Thoughts of the coming winter season were appropriate as we discussed Degrees of Separation by Laurence Fearnley, set in the Antarctic.

On board an aircraft, as it makes its way from the Antarctic to New Zealand, three people sit quietly, reflecting on their past summer on the ice. Sally, a composer who has been searching for inspiration; William, a bird scientist who has been visiting Antarctica since the 1960s, and Marilyn, a young communications operator, tell their stories in alternating chapters. Contrasting the beauty and vastness of the Antarctic with the banality and discomfort of life on the ice, Degrees of Separation focuses on themes of love and memory.

It was great to hear some personal insights from the family member of someone who had spent a lot of time in the Antarctic. Discussion suggested frustration in the story and how the characters acted.  However, it is hard to know how we outselves would react in the situations presented.  The connections between the characters played on the idea of the 3 degrees of separation between New Zealander (whether revealed or not.)

Other discussion:  The Lower River by Paul Theroux