AUBURN — The Auburn Public Library has announced the April selections for their two longstanding book groups. The Auburn Page Turners will meet at 12:30 p.m. Monday, April 1, to discuss the Kristin Hannah novel, “The Great Alone.” The Speak Your Mind book group will meet at 6 p.m. the same day, April 1, to discuss the non-fiction work “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.”
Set in 1974 Alaska, “The Great Alone” follows a girl coping with the dangers of domestic violence. Though ill-prepared for the extreme and harsh conditions, 13-year-old Leni and her parents, Ernt and Cora, have to learn how to survive in the unforgiving wild of their new home on the Kenai Peninsula. With the help of the small-knit community of endearing fellow homesteaders, the Allbrights manage to just barely stay afloat. But Ernt, who has never recovered from the trauma of fighting in the Vietnam War, struggles with the isolation and the interminably dark days of winter. Leni grows up witnessing her father (who is increasingly unable to control his paranoia and jealousy) abuse her beloved mother. Leni’s greatest comfort and escape is her schoolmate and neighbor, Matthew. Over the years, their friendship evolves into a forbidden romance. Hannah highlights, with vivid description, the natural dangers of Alaska juxtaposed against incongruous violence.
In “Evicted,” Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families in Milwaukee as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Hailed as “wrenching and revelatory” (The Nation), “vivid and unsettling” (New York Review of Books), “Evicted” transforms our understanding of poverty and economic exploitation while providing fresh ideas for solving one of 21st-century America’s most devastating problems. Its unforgettable scenes of hope and loss remind us of the centrality of home, without which nothing else is possible.
While participants do not need to have necessarily finished the entire book, it is expected that a majority of the book has been read. Copies of each of these books can be requested through the inter-library loan process. These book groups are open to the public.
For more information about the process or the book group, call the library at 207-333-6640, ext. 4.
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