Wind Dog Reader's Group

Our group was started in October 2002 at the Wind Dog Café in Gutcher, Yell, Shetland Islands. The café is situated at the far north of the island of Yell, at a ferry terminal from which ferries go to and from Unst and Fetlar, the last two inhabited islands in Shetland. It is a good spot for everyone in the North Isles to get to for such events and we meet once a month, at seven thirty to enable people to come from all over Shetland.

The second meeting of the group was held on the 13th February and we discussed Tim Lott's "The Love Secrets of Don Juan". Unfortunately, at this time of year, Up Helly 'Aa, a recreation of a Viking Fire Festival, takes precedence over all other activities and so we were few in number. But a lively discussion was had and some interesting viewpoints were put forward.

We have decided that, for the foreseeable future, our books will be drawn from the libraries of members of the group and each of us will write a short report to put into the front of the book. Once a month, we will meet and discuss some of the books we have read.

We are building up a library of reports and books, and are always interested in hearing from other groups around the country and indeed, the world. Please feel free to contact us by email: aross@btinternet.com or just pop in next time you are in Shetland!

Tim Lott's book was most enjoyable to the group. Although some expressed reservations in the beginning about the first chapter or so, it gradually drew the reader's attention and by the end of the book. However, some opinions were distinctly polarised between those that thought the book and main character clever and manipulative, and those that thought both boring. The story is a simple premise of the late coming-of-age (in this case, middle age) of a man and how he goes about trying to sort out his multiple love problems in his head. He is prone to exaggeration and over-analysis which makes his problems seem worse the more he looks at them.

Comments were varied and ranged from those that liked the book and the character, through to those that thought the character was tedious and needed a stiff dose of reality to sort his life out.

One interesting aspect of the writing was that almost all agreed that it was a slow-moving novel, and that nothing much happened. This is the second book that the group has read like this and it is beginning to seem a trend in modern literature. It would be fascinating to look at how the novel structure and style has changed recently. There does seem a questioning attitude to life in general in these books and it made the group question why  this should be. An MA in it for someone...

Andy Ross