3/26/2010 @ 7:00

3/26/2010

Postal code 62221, United States
Belleville, IL 62221

Thanks to everyone who attended the February Meetup! It was great to meet one of our new members, Sarah, and hope we did not scare her away with our intensely serious discussion. (I'm trying not to be too upset that my book got poo-pooed simply because people have problems committing to 937 pages in one month. Whatever.) ANYWAY, our March 2010 meetup is a special one because it marks the club's ONE YEAR anniversary. Thank you so much for making this such a success!! Niki has graciously offered us her house in Collinsville as a venue. Because this is a private home, this month's meetup is only open to members who have already attended. If you are a new member, don't despair, as we will be resuming restaurant meetups in April and we look forward to meeting you then! The Wine and Food: It's up to you! Please bring a bottle of wine and some munchies to share. The Book: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick "Set in 1907 Wisconsin, Goolrick's fiction debut (after a memoir, The End of the World as We Know It) gets off to a slow, stylized start, but eventually generates some real suspense. When Catherine Land, who's survived a traumatic early life by using her wits and sexuality as weapons, happens on a newspaper ad from a well-to-do businessman in need of a "reliable wife," she invents a plan to benefit from his riches and his need. Her new husband, Ralph Truitt, discovers she's deceived him the moment she arrives in his remote hometown. Driven by a complex mix of emotions and simple animal attraction, he marries her anyway. After the wedding, Catherine helps Ralph search for his estranged son and, despite growing misgivings, begins to poison him with small doses of arsenic. Ralph sickens but doesn't die, and their story unfolds in ways neither they nor the reader expect. This darkly nuanced psychological tale builds to a strong and satisfying close."