Lost City of Z - Book Club

Hostess: Chrissy

Book: Lost City of Z by David Grann

Food:Smoked Trout and Cucumber sandwiches, Greek Orzo salad, Roasted Beets with Feta and Basil, Bruschetta with Feta and Basil, gourmet olive tray, Vegan Rosewater Cupcakes

Wine of the Night: Xplorador Malbec

Month: June

A book about adventure and explorers in the Amazon Rain forest? Danger, romance, lost cities- how exciting!! I have always been interested in this type of story, about those who break trail and discover new places and new cultures. For most of my life I wanted to be the female Indiana Jones- archaeologist, explorer, adventurer. I am content now to simply read about others adventures, for the most part, although sometimes I still find myself daydreaming about being part of a dig or an expedition...

Most of us agreed that this book was not one that was a super easy breezy read. Parts of it just took a little longer to get through, but it really picked up steam in the last third. We all found it fascinating, and Alyssa said she was hooked from the first paragraph. I think this statement by Alyssa is a testimony to how riveting this book can be- Alyssa is an avid reader, but not necessarily a big fan of historical books. So this was a heavy compliment with some weight behind it.

Words we used to describe Fawcett ranged from amazing to crazy, from jerk to compassionate. He was amazing in his single mindedness, his stamina that kept him going while those around him fell prey to the jungle's dangers, including disgusting life threatening insects and starvation, crazy for doing it over and over in those conditions, a jerk to his expedition members and his wife and two of his children, yet compassionate for the natives of the land. Jennifer made a good point about that- despite his faults, he really tried hard to be respectful of the native people, wanting to befriend them and putting his life and the life of his team at risk at times, with his orders not to shoot at the Indians (the Grann's word for the native people so I am assuming it is accurate) even when they were seemingly hostile. This is such a different approach from other explorers that enslaved or killed the native people in the lands they explored. I feel part of this difference is because Fawcett never wanted to conquer, just discover.

One thing we didn't discuss but we are all friends having a good time and conversation wanders, was what we all thought happened to Fawcett. Did we believe Grann's explanation?

I really enjoyed this book, and feel that as a reader you must press on, because it is worth it.

Chrissy's rosewater cupcakes were fantastic by the way- and she even made her own rosewater! Yum!

Next month is Kelly's pick, yet to be announced.

For my full review of this book, you can find it here.