Ten totally top-notch tintillating ladies. One superb restaurant, Park Plaza Gardens. They have expanded their back private room, did you know that?
We missed four of you.
:(
I wish I could report that the book Wolf Hall was a scintillating success, loved by all. OR at least that it inspired a wickedly wild conversation.
But I can't.
The conversation was good, but not overly inspired by the book.
A few of us loved it. Okay, ONE of us loved it. A few thought it had pages of good parts that got you hooked, but then it dropped you like yesterday's socks and you were swimming in the pronouns trying to figure out what the heck-a-rooni was going on.
Some passages were magical. And clever. A view into Cromwell's mind and heart.
Some couldn't get past the syntax and the focus issues. Too many people, some real, some fictional. The perspective confused many of us. That "he" was usually Cromwell was tricky. You have to really be paying attention to this book. Not a book to pick up 30 minutes per day before bed.
If you asked the others in the booklunch if this was a book they'd recommend, I think three might recommend it, including me. That's not many.
Talked about Thomas More's depiction here versus in A Man for all Seasons. Mantel really really liked Thomas Cromwell. Thomas More, not so much.
How much of this was fiction, how much fact? We have little idea. There are some remaining artifacts from the 1500's; much had to be filled in.
Cromwell was one of the rare lower class people who rose in power and wealth at that time. His influence spread so far, yet he gets little credit for it.
Personally, I will read her second book, Bring in the Bodies. Don't think many others will.
For May, our choice is
Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi.
I
wish bon voyage to our Fiery Five off to Chicago this week. Our
booklunch's annual field trip. Seeing Book of Mormon, Million Dollar
Quartet, Second City, Picasso exhibit. And dinners all set up - Girl and
the Goat, etc... You all will have a blast. Send photos! Stay warm!
Kudos to Beth. I passed around my new little bracelet, asked people to guess what / how it was made? What new technology was used, that some people say will change our lives. Beth got it!
3-D Printing. This is from "
Nervous System" Jewelers. You go to this site, design your own bracelet, they print it out and ship it to you. It is separate from MOMA (I thought it was through them, they have one of their bracelets.) Try it.
After stopping at the hotel to drop the bags, the next stop was Girl and the Goat. Remember Stephanie Izard from Top Chef season 4? Well, here she is .. her first restaurant. Girl and the Goat. In her humble words, “I’m just trying to make your whole mouth happy.” As I hear, she does. 
Cromwell was one of the rare lower class people who rose in power and wealth at that time. His influence spread so far, yet he gets little credit for it.