June 17: Saint Theresa of Portugal

So, my book club met tonight. We read Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger this month. A while ago, we read Niffenegger's first novel, The Time Traveler's Wife. We all liked it, so we gave her another chance. This book was not as good as her first, but it was still good. Symmetry is a ghost story about twins, death, obsession, OCD, sex, and dysfunction. In short, it's about family.

My friend from Georgia claims that I force the members of my book club to read "theee most depressin' books ever." This is, in fact, an untruth. A little over a year ago, we read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This past December, we read a book by David Sedaris, Holidays On Ice. Both of those books I loved. Granted, Eat, Pray, Love starts with a hideous divorce and Gilbert sinking into crushing depression; Holidays On Ice features a story about workers in a county morgue and a heartwarming tale about a woman who puts her infant grandchild into a washing machine on the spin cycle. However, everything ends up well in both books. Sort of.

This month's meeting was also the last that my pastor friend could be at before his impending move. Therefore, it was a farewell party, as well. Everyone brought my friend's favorite foods, including a cake with a facsimile of the cover of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis on top. The cake was in recognition of one of the most hated books the club ever read. Of course, it was recommended by my pastor friend. We take our book selections seriously, and Screwtape got my friend on the blackballed list. It was a couple of years before the group would even consider a suggestion from him again, and then it had to be accompanied by the endorsement of another club member.

SIDE NOTE: This blog in no way reflects upon the literary value of Mr. Lewis's talent. We chose Screwtape for a July read. It was summertime, and everyone wanted something light and not too taxing. This book didn't fit the bill. Even I, who am fairly tolerant of almost any writing, got a little impatient with the book. Therefore, the Summer of Screwtape, as it has become known, will haunt my pastor friend forever.

My friend loved the cake, took a picture of it with his i-Phone. And he took the joke well, although he was quick to remind my sister of her ill-fated suggestion from a couple years ago, Edith's Story, a tedious holocaust memoir that almost landed her on the banned list with my friend. He also took the opportunity to remind me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, a book which I love and he suggested (with the support of the required second member, per the terms of the blacklist contract). My friend always plays The Road card, but Screwtape trumps it. He's never been able to get his name removed from what has become known as the Screwtape List, and he frequently complains about the injustice of his continued inclusion. There's nothing to be done, unfortunately. Book club is a cut-throat world. Think Lord of the Flies with artichoke dip.

Overall, it was a lovely evening, and everyone pretty much gave Her Fearful Symmetry a thumbs-up, which doesn't happen very frequently. Of course, the gathering was tinged with sadness because of my friend's imminent departure. He's been a part of our group since its inception about seven years ago. In book club time, that's almost 150 years. In my experience, book clubs have the shelf life of a banana, so our group is a rarity. Membership is fairly stable, and everyone still likes each other after all these years. We have become a family of sorts.

Theresa of Portugal was pretty devoted to family. She married her cousin, King Alfonso IX of Leon, Spain. (Yes, the does border on Deliverance territory, but let's keep the banjos out of this post.) Their marriage was eventually annulled because of their familial ties, but not before Theresa managed to have quite a few children. So her kids were also her second cousins, and they were their own third cousins. Or something like that. Let's just say, it's a crazy family tree. Eventually, Theresa joined a convent, but her kids kept her busy. When Alfonso died, they got into a huge fight over who was going to take over the throne of Leon. Theresa was able to bring peace among her children. I imagine her giving them all time-outs until they played nice. Of course, when a crown is at stake, I bet there was more than name-calling going on. It was probably like a Corleone family reunion, complete with a horse's head and a kiss of death. But, Theresa worked it out.

A family is like that. Disagreements arise. A sister borrows a sweater from a sister without asking. A little brother loses a sister's treasured goggles while swimming. A friend suggests reading a book that everyone hates. Siblings fight over inheritance. But when the sister gets married, the other sister cries. When the little brother leaves for college, the big sister buys him a car. When war breaks out, the mother steps in and brings about peace.

When the friend leaves the book club, everyone misses his suggestions.

That's family.