Join us as we discuss a classic that still has modern relevance. Air Force attorney, Mike Bunnell will provide his unique perspective as he specializes in criminal cases involving sexual assault. He discusses the difficulty found in proving or disproving consent (particularly when alcohol is involved) and compares it to the accusation and subsequent trial that take place in the book. In E.M. Forster's novel A Passage to India, Forster seems to be asking if people of different cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds can co-exist, particularly in situations of high tension and biases. It leads to a good discussion regarding what it means to really see a person, or really see a country.

On the plots surface, Bel Canto details a hostage situation that takes place at an embassy in Peru. But when one delves deeper, it is a meditation on the healing and uniting power of art, specifically that of opera to bring people of completely different cultures and languages together to appreciate music at its finest. This is Ann Patchett's 4th novel and was awarded the Orange prize for fiction and the PEN/Faulkner award. Later the book was made into a film that uses the masterful vocal stylings of soprano Renee Fleming. Stay tuned to the end of this book club chat to hear fellow book-clubber, Mary Ann Claros sing the aria from Rusalka called "Song to the Moon," which is the song that launches the book Bel Canto. Hearing it live is magical!

Join us for this book club chat as we interview author Dr. Charles Inouye about his beautiful memoir, Zion Earth Zen Sky. He details the experiences from his life as a child growing up in rural Sigurd, Utah. As Japanese-Americans, his family eventually settled there after his parents met at an internment camp following Pearl Harbor. His religious backgrounds include a family culture of Buddhism, and then a conversion to the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. Though he began working along side his dad as a farmer, Dr. Inouye eventually left the farm to serve as a missionary in Japan and discovered the many beauties of the Japanese traditions. He went on to pursue his education, completing a doctorate at Harvard. He now teaches at Tufts University in Boston. His memoir is replete with Haiku and stories that warm your heart to their teller. His ideas on faith are simple and profound: serving others is similar to the Buddhist tradition of maintaining a zen garden. The constant raking is what refines us, and allows us the connections that come from loving others, and being loved.

https://www.amazon.com/Zion-Earth-Charles-Shirō-Inouye/dp/1950304116#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/Hymns-Silence-Stories-Charles-Inouye/dp/1948218976/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1I9NCGKAA8UC9&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.91HYIhIlWWSJ73IJ4s03YbacoDXZI4OkDCEPox1o9EYF8wLbPUkeX0ztidyFg-CKyO92CBIoVgxyPAzthvARQTQbgLbTSC85B2AsbsUkPGjgNu7BMJwm5Nkx7jlh1gJRJFowCzlgMjAm96KsaPaVT5SmN5TtWuKyLOzMQij5wnn2LXrYLqZXFH4vowSwYgsahDCvMt9Be75Bks8eW57rlswHaqbt_VR_S7Oc0IPNSf8.fsPVslObfCz34JOYvewhqNU2L76d5gU8p3ur-BO3DIE&dib_tag=se&keywords=books+by+charles+inouye&qid=1711822544&s=books&sprefix=books+by+charles+inouye%2Cstripbooks%2C62&sr=1-1