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As booksellers, we often overhear customers lamenting that they've always meant to read “that other Jane Austen novel,” or Graham Greene, or Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but just never found the time. We've tried to remedy that with our Classics I Forgot to Read Book Club by providing motivation and a welcoming space to share your thoughts.

In choosing our ‘classics’ over the past few years, we've tried to select titles that had some visibility among readers, but were not necessarily included in the standard high school English class. We've also sampled a range of genres, from mystery (The Long Goodbye) to comedy (Cold Comfort Farm) to stream-of-consciousness (To the Lighthouse). So, whether our picks are already gathering dust on your bookshelves or this is your first encounter with the literary canon, we encourage you to join us on the last Wednesday evening of every month for conversation about the classics.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

February 2007--A Passage to India

by E.M. Forster

In this masterful, understated novel, Forster teases out the layers of conflict and contradiction in British India. A young woman travels to the Raj to visit her fiance, a provincial official, only to discover that she has no desire whatever to marry him. When she claims to have been assaulted by an Indian friend, the fragile balance among races and religions is shattered, and all those involved find their loyalties, their friendships, and their beliefs put at hazard. As a political critique, the novel is beautifully balanced and unpolemical; as a psychological drama, it's complex and absorbing; as a portrait of a time and place, it's exquisite.

--Tom

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