The Sisterhood Book Club

The Sisterhood Book Club is a friendly book club for adults, discovering and rediscovering female protagonists in classic, modern classic and contemporary world fiction written by women.

We meet monthly to informally discuss a book read in advance, over refreshments at the Emporium. The cost of taking part is the purchase of the book to be discussed, and books are available to collect at least a month prior to the book club.

We were originally inspired by Penguin Books' Sisterhood Collection, which included titles such as Anne of Green Gables, Little Women and Pride and Prejudice. Previously, we have read One For Sorrow, Two For Joy (Marie-Claire Amuah), A System So Magnificent it is Blinding (Amanda Svensson), and Diary of a Void (Emi Yagi). 

About the book this month:

The Alternatives by Caoilinn Hughes

MEET THE FLATTERY SISTERS.

Olwen, Nell, Maeve and Rhona were plunged prematurely into adulthood when their parents died in a tragic twist of fate. Now in their thirties, the sisters barely speak, each too busy carving out impressive careers. But when Olwen – reluctant matriarch, lodestar and, of late, zealous consumer of gin – abruptly disappears, her sisters are cast back together to find her, whether she likes it or not.

When they eventually track Olwen down, she is holed up in a remote bungalow in rural Ireland, with little electricity and a patchy connection to the outside world. Together for the first time in years, the sisters vie to confront old wounds and diagnose new ills – most urgently, Olwen's. Fiercely witty and unexpectedly hopeful, The Alternatives is an unforgettable portrait of a family perched on a precipice, told by one of Ireland's most gifted storytellers. 

'Bold, witty and intellectual... a book of intelligent women that very successfully plays with form and intertwined big ideas.' Sunday Independent