Now that summer has officially arrived, are you looking for a long, engrossing novel to read?  The Book Group has gone on hiatus for July and August, and its members have selected two such books for their summer reading.  “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee, which has been on top of the bestseller list for several months, is the story of four generations of a Korean family living in Japan.  The story begins in the early 1900s when a teenaged daughter becomes pregnant by a married man and leaves her country and her baby’s powerful father to marry a kind minister on his way to Japan.  This story of how Korean immigrants struggle to succeed in their new country has applications to today’s news stories.

The second book, “Beneath a Scarlet Sky” by Mark Sullivan, is the story of an Italian teenaged boy whose life changes dramatically when World War II breaks out.  Only recently has the story of Italy’s unusual role in the war become publicized.  The nation began the war under Mussolini as Hitler’s main ally, then unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces in September 1943 when the Americans and English captured Sicily and began to advance up the southern boot to Rome.  The Germans, their former allies, then occupied the northern half of the country, fighting against the Italian partisans in the mountains and the advancing Allied forces while Mussolini set up a puppet “republic of Salo” on Lake Garda.  The book’s teenaged hero who is based on an actual person is swept up in all these events.  The book is highly recommended by Andrea Stackpole who calls it “beautifully written and one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  I couldn’t put it down.”

So enjoy one or both of these books for your own enjoyment and feel free to join the discussion when the Book Group re-convenes on September 7.