The Westchester Great Books Council’s announced that two classic WW1 novels will be the focus of intensive discussion on Saturday Saturday January 27, 2024, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at Briarcliff High School. Trained leaders will help you gain new insights through open ended questions using the “shared inquiry” style for discussion that encourages dialogue and respectful debate relying entirely on the text as the source for point and counterpoint.
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
Written when Ernest Hemingway was 30 years old and lauded as the best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse. Set against the horrors of the battlefield — weary, demoralized men marching in the rain during the German attack on Caporetto; the profound struggle between loyalty and desertion — this gripping, semiautobiographical work captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its inexorable sweep.
Regeneration by Pat Barker
Pat Barker’s Booker Prize nominated historical anti-war novel explores the experience of World War I British army officers being treated for shell shock at an Edinburgh war hospital. It draws extensively on first person narratives from the period, using characters based on individuals present at the hospital including poets and patients and psychiatrist W. H. R. Rivers, who pioneered treatments of post-traumatic stress disorder during and after World War I. The novel is thematically complex, exploring the effect of the War on identity, masculinity, and social structure.
The event will include a light breakfast with beverages and a BYO lunch with beverages and dessert provided.
Cost: $15 Registration | Deadline:January 20, 2024
Make checks payable to Westchester Great Books Council and send to: Westchester Great Books Council, P.O. Box 233, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
For online registration and payment information via PayPal, write to westchestergreatbooks@gmail.com (please include your email and phone number).
