Our discussion last night was an interesting one, as always. We all seemed to enjoy the book GATES OF THE ALAMO. The born Texans in the group enjoyed how folklore gave way to realism and the new texans found the history explained quite a a bit about San Antonians. Elke gave us a review of her trip to the Alamo the day before, making us all say we need to get down there soon. Her news clippings also re-educated us. Our vocabulary was increased thanks to Adrianne. (Elke if you can please list some of the words Addie defined for us in a comment below, I want to remember them) We appreciated Mr. Harrigan’s realistic fictional account of the famous battle for reigniting our interest in Texas history; from those of us who studied it in grade school and have long forgotten it to those of us who learned it when they arrived to the Lone Star state.
One of our discussion questions was, who did we consider the heroes of the story? There was an overwhelming agreement on Professor, the trusty canine that endures so much. Then with all seriousness we also agreed on Mary Mott. We felt that the story of her search for her son and the love she had for Mr. McGowen was told so well that we felt her pain and persistence. Another question was, what did not seem realistic? We couldn’t think of anything. The descriptions of everything from the smells to the long journeys were told so realistic that there seemed little left to the romanticism of the legend.
Here is the document on which we based our discussion, it is all I could find. harrigan_curriculum
Finally, thanks to Teresa for hosting. We especially loved the Aunty Em’s Kennel Korn!
Please add your comments to this summary of April book club whether you attended or not.
I’m delighted to read your commentary on Harrigan’s “Gates of the Alamo.” Your previous reading list is admirably broad. How did you select Harrigan’s work? Where are you located? Your posting of the TEA guide was an excellent thought. I may mention you in my blog.
Thanks
We read in San Antonio. As a group we decide on our books in December, so that many of us receive the annual stack for a Christmas gift. We are a very diverse group with many different likes, our only guidelines include something that someone has read because we have been burned before going just on reviews, a non-fiction choice and a classic. Then we just read away.