26 ~ North Shore News — Friday, December 1, 2000 Evensong B Evensong by Gail Godwin, 432 pp., Ballantine softcover. ALTHOUGH Evensong is a won- derful read it is not a book for everyone. Most of our book club enjoved it — some thought it was OK, and one or two couldn't wait for it to be over. P was one of the ones who loved it and was somewhat surprised that Not every one did. Perhaps this is a book that you have to be in the right frame of mind to - enjoy. "Gail Gedwin is an American writer who was born in Alabama. She has written a number of different novels includ- ing The Good Husband, Father Melancholy’s Daughter and The Finishing School... Evensong is actually a continuation of Father Melancholy's Daughter, although you don’t need to have read it to understand the storyline. Evensong is a nov ed abour Margaret, an Episcepalian minis- ter ina small American community. Her husband, Adrian, is alsc a minister and presently the headmaster at a small boarding Here comes the sun The film takes us to other locations in Bolivia, Japan, Norway, the Caribbean and Australia, chronicting the different ways we celebrate and what - - we believe about the Sun, the Earth’s nearest star. .The Sun is praised for giving us the energy we “need to survive, but the ‘solar max phenomenon is blamed for everything from modern-day cell phone dis- ruptions to the eradication of the Norse settlement of Qagortoq, Greenland. Ruins there point to a land that was several degrees warmer when it was settled, only to return to its inhabit- able temperature once the "solar max period was over. All the settlers perished. You don’t have to be a nuclear physicist to enjoy Solarmax, The barrage of ‘scientific information is pre- “sented in an entirely accessi- ble manner, set against beautiful scenery, with start- “Sing solar images and ener- gized world-beat music “enhancing the journey. An excellent film chroni- * ling humankind’s relation- “_ship with the Sun, from the ‘beginning of time through 2 to that inevitable dark day, ‘when the Sun will swell and swallow the Earth : Want to Erow how much time we've got left? ~. Go see. Solarniax, the most illuminating and ” entertaining science lesson ve ever had.- LARMAX’S HO’ FACTS: -—. The Sus is the largest -- object i in the solar system and contains appresimately 98 per cent of the total solar system. mass. — The Sun is 93 million miles from Earth © — 109 Earths would be required to fit across the Sun’s disk, and its interior “gould hold more than 1.3 >million Earths ~ vo — Energy generated in the * Sun's core takes a million “years to reach its surface oy, The Sun ‘appears to have been active for 4.6 billion __ years and. has enough fuel to goon for at feast another « five billion years. Information compiled from . NASHVILLE LOS ANGELES DEC. 101: COLUMBUS BEC. 161TH draws reader school. This story has many levels to it and I found myself drawn to all of them. Firstly, there is the story of a wife and husband who have been married for several years and find themselves ina lell in their relationship. Margaret fintasizes about leaving this mar- riage as she is abwavs in want for more from her husband. ft’s not that they have a bad marriage but one that is not as full and pas- stonate as she might imagine. The other story, also an important part of the novel is the lite of pvo ministers and the church. I wouldnt say that this book is a religious book but perhaps a spiritual book about faith and religion. I particularlily enjoyed this aspect as 1 do not have much ofa religions back- ground and found myself learning about the church in a very gentle and non-preaching way. in a harried and busy lifestyle this book is a retreat. There is something very calming and restful about being involved with this story, the characters, and the smail town where everyone knows everyone. I found myself really looking forward to get- ting back to my book and its calming effect. Mary entadue Book Clits DEC. 4TH Bonus Mon. Nicut Our book club discussion about Evensong was quite live- lv and entertaining. Those of us who loved the book raved about it and really couldn't stop talking about its merits. We all appreciated the way in which religion was such a big part of this story bur not in an loud and aggess gave us a way to talk “sbout our faith and how we have been raised with or without it. There were some situations in the story that were a bit vague and it was interesting to see how each of us had a slightly differen: perspective of these particular aspects. I would say that we had a good discussion of this novel regardless of whether the book was enjoyed by all. We were going to read a classic for our next pick but this has been vetoed and now our nest read will be A Goud House by Bonnie Burnard, a Canadian writer. This book has received great reviews and won the Giller Prize in 1999. It is a story of See Simpson page 27 COLUMBUS CALGARY CHICAGO “Minimum PURCHASE OF FOUR « (4) TICKETS PER GAME. 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