Readers' Forum Book Discussion: "The Invention of Wings" (2014) by Sue Monk Kidd

The Readers’ Forum, the Cranford Public Library’s long-running book discussion group, will meet to consider The Invention of Wings (2014) by Sue Monk Kidd. New members are welcome at any time. The Invention of Wings follows Hetty “Handful” Grimke, a Charleston slave, and Sarah, the daughter of the wealthy Grimke family. The novel begins on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership over Handful, who is to be her handmaid. “The Invention of Wings” follows the next thirty-five years of their lives. Inspired in part by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke (a feminist, suffragist and, importantly, an abolitionist), Kidd allows herself to go beyond the record to flesh out the inner lives of all the characters, both real and imagined. Subsequent titles and dates include: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (2014) by Gabrielle Zevin, December 28, 2015; Everything I Never Told You (2014) by Celeste Ng, January 25, 2016; Lila (2014) by Marilynne Robinson, February 22, 2016; The Measure of a Man (2000) by Sidney Poitier, March 28, 2016; All the Light We Cannot See (2014) by Anthony Doerr, April 25, 2016; and In the Unlikely Event (2015) by Judy Blume, May 23, 2016. All dates are Mondays. Sessions start at 7:00 p.m. and are held in the library’s Fridlington Room. New members are welcome at any time. Click here for more information about the titles listed above.