The Malden community hosted their Malden Reads book discussion in the library at the Perle Fine: Exhibit Abstract. There were new members and ones that have been a part of Malden Reads since it began. For this discussion, they decided to read the book “A Man Called Love” by Fredrik Backman. This book was written in many different languages such as Swedish and Dutch.
Questions that were asked in the meeting had to do with what people thought of this years book choice and what people’s favorite and least favorite parts of the story were. They also explored the idea of whether life should be ruled by routine or by stepping out of one’s comfort zone. Although not everyone finished reading the story, the people there had all had around the same opinions.
People commented on how much they loved the book and how interesting it gets as they story goes on. Some of the themes that they came up with were about intergenerational ideals and how the technology in the book was laid back and not as modern. They also talked about the importance of having a job because they think that even if people go into denial and into their job, they would not commit much harm to themselves.
The author of the book also received many compliments from the group, as people mentioned how they liked how the author was slowly fitting the pieces of the novel together..They also praised the author for using many vivid characterization that enabled readers to imagine the characters.
The Malden Reads community also wanted to recommend the book to different age groups such as teens because they believe that the morals of the book would be quite teachable to younger age groups. They know that the book has a big amount of negativity such as a suicide attempt, but it is still recommended. The book also has a movie related to it, that will be shown at Malden High School April 27, 2017 from 3:00 to 4:00.
