HANNAH COULTER by Wendell Berry ~ November '08

Slow Reader has mentioned elsewhere that we had one of our best discussions in November with the novel Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. As I've thought about the factors that made this possible, it seems that perhaps this story of life and relationships and growing old helped us to reflect on what is truly of value in our lives. In that reflection, we shared more of our own histories and our own lives with each other than we have in other discussions. This book made us think. It made us compare our lives to the life described by Hannah Coulter (many of us found it easier to personify this fictional character than to refer to the author's presentation of the story). Some compared her story to their family history if it was linked to a farm, and others found a challenge to live more purposefully in the present and future. At the least, all of us came away with a new appreciation for a piece of America that has all but disappeared.

Wendell Berry's ideals are seamlessly interwoven throughout the narrative. Some of our members thought they came through almost like a sermon, but they made others long for a simple and full life closer to the land, a life that seems so elusive in our fast paced urban and suburban lifestyles. Although none of us are in a place where we can fully embrace those ideals even if we wanted to, they certainly gave us reason to examine some of our assumptions and motives for how we live our lives.

We discussed most of the questions listed in a previous post, but two concepts in particular seemed to shape most of our discussion. First, we spent a good deal of time talking about contentment and ambition as related to this passage:

Compared to nearly everybody else, the Branches have led a sort of futureless life. They have planned and provided as much as they needed to, but they take little thought for the morrow. They aren't going any place, they aren't getting ready to become anything but what they are, and so their lives are not fretful and hankering. And they are all still here, still farming... They survive and go on because they like where they are and what they are doing, they aren't trying to get up in the world, and they produce more than they consume...they trade and contrive and make do, getting by and prospering both at once. It doesn't seem to bother them that while they are making crops and meat and timber, other people are making only money that they sometimes don't even work for (152).

It truly gave us pause to consider that this might be a more genuine application of "taking no thought for the marrow" than the more typical (and overly-simplistic) admonition not to worry. (And how many of us succeed at that anyway?) The members of the Branch family referred to above also had little formal education, yet they were self-educated in many practical skills and areas of knowledge that interested them. While all of us Captive Thoughts ladies value education, it also made us wonder if sometimes our pursuit of education can become chasing after the wind.

The other topic that shaped our discussion was the idea of place and community that figured prominently in the novel. Hannah referred to the network of friends and relatives in Port William, Kentucky, as "the Membership." The Membership was tied to the land and to the others who lived there and loved the same land. They knew each other intimately and thus were able to help each other in time of need. In a multitude of ways, these connections to land and people are lost in our culture today. Yet we can still create a place of refuge, a place for roots and heritage and family and community to grow. It will take time and effort, but it is possible. Several of us look forward to reading this recent release for ideas of how to do just that.

I haven't even begun to cover all the ideas we tossed around at our meeting, so Captive Thoughts ladies, please add to this by posting some more thoughts in the comments. What did you think of the book and/or our discussion? Maybe you can share if something in Hannah Coulter or our discussion brought you to a better understanding or changed the way you thought about life. Personally, I think I'll attempt to raise a garden next year! What about you?

FOR FURTHER READING
More fiction about characters in Port William, KY:
Jayber Crow
That Distant Land: The Collected Stories
The Memory of Old Jack
Nathan Coulter: A Novel
Andy Catlett: Early Travels

Non-fiction by Wendell Berry:
The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry

By Matthew Bonzo and Michael Stevens (Cornerstone University professors):
Wendell Berry and the Cultivation of Life: A Reader's Guide

Recipe for Dried Apple Stack Cake (we enjoyed this traditional Appalachian dessert at our November meeting!)

Book Group Discussion Questions for Hannah Coulter

As we prepared for our November discussion, I didn't find any discussion questions for our selection of Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. As I was reading, I jotted down a few ideas and compiled the following questions before our meeting. Unfortunately, I forgot to print them to take with me, but our discussion still covered most of these topics. Perhaps another book club or reader will find these questions helpful or thought provoking. Links for further reading can be found at the end of this post.

1. The idea of “place” features prominently in the novel. How does Hannah understand and describe this concept? Can such a place be found apart from the land, or to put it differently, how can a significant place be found outside an agrarian community?
   
2. Wendell Berry is known, among other things, for promoting sustainable agriculture, environmentalism, and conservationism, or minimizing one’s impact on the environment. How does he communicate his ideals through Hannah’s voice? Share some specific passages.
   
3. Biblical allusions were subtle, but surely present in this novel. Which ones did you notice or particularly stood out to you? What is the role of faith in Hannah Coulter’s life and in the community of Port William?
   
4. There is a shift in the narrative between Parts I and II. (chronological narrative vs. reminiscing and directly addressing Andy Catlett) Discuss these differences and what the author might have been trying to accomplish with these changes.
   
5. How did Hannah Coulter understand and describe her two courtships and marriages? What were some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these relationships?
   
6. What did you find to be the most surprising thing about this novel? Did it challenge your thinking? Did it make you long for a by-gone era or a rural life? Do you think Wendell Berry’s portrayal of rural life is more realistic or idealistic?

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Our last discussion, on Hannah Coulter (Wendell Berry), was so good -- probably our best. One of our members said she'd been feeling a deep pull toward rural life, and the book accorded with that. I'm not going to summarize our discussion yet, because as usual I've since read something else that I need to share.

We also discussed what to read during the months for which we still had no titles. Another member suggested we take up Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji-li Jiang. It's a memoir about the Cultural Revolution in China. I don't know which month we'll plug it into.

I needed something to read over our holiday break (we don't meet in December), so I went to the library and noticed a display of books by Asian writers. Didn't see Red Scarf Girl, but noticed one with red shoes on the cover. It was Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie. I thought, since it's short and also about the Cultural Revolution, it might be a good companion to Red Scarf Girl.

It is a quick read, and a good story. If anyone wants to supplement their reading for the month we finally do Red Scarf Girl, I recommend this one. It would make for an interesting discussion, especially as it offsets the viewpoint of Hannah Coulter. As the story opens, we learn that the two main characters are being forcibly moved to a back-country village for their re-education. They are "young intellectuals" according to Mao, and need to learn peasant ways. Actually, their "crime" consists of having a high school education and being the sons of medical professionals. Needless to say, this is hardly the idyllic picture of rural life that Wendell Berry paints. Certainly, a move to the countryside should be one's own choice!

I also picked up Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry, which is turning out to be much the same in writing style to Hannah Coulter. I had hoped for a different voice -- didn't care for Hannah's narrative so much -- and this is a slight improvement. There is the same reflective tone -- you can tell it's by the same author -- but this first-person narrative is a bit crisper and more interesting. I think there's more description, and certainly more action, and I have a better sense of who the narrator (the barber of Port William) is. Naturally, a barber (Jayber Crow) is going to have a lot of insight into the town's characters, so that makes it interesting. And he is a friend of Burley Coulter's -- a character we all wished for more of in Hannah Coulter. Actually, this story reminds me a lot of Gilead. Jayber is a solitary person, much like the old, dying pastor in that book.

Isn't it interesting how so many of our books have some relation to each other?

Added later (2/21/09): I just remembered something that I really liked about Jayber Crow. His love is pure and sacrificial. I'd say that it's in contrast to Max DeWinter's, for either of his wives. I don't want to give anything away, so you'll have to read Jayber. But really, do read it. He's a wonderful character.

Another by Alexandre Dumas

I was interested in reading another of Alexandre Dumas' historical novels after we read La Reine Margot in October. I didn't think I had the time to delve into the 700+ pages of The Count of Monte Cristo (maybe someday), and I wasn't particularly interested in the swashbuckling tales of The Three Musketeers. But I came across The Black Tulip on Amazon, and not only did it have good reviews, but it was under 300 pages, and it was set in Holland (which is fitting for many who live in West Michigan)! I enjoyed this little novel much more than La Reine Margot, and you can read my summary and review here. My local library had this wonderful old copy with such a charming cover ~

Frank McCourt's Teacher Man

The following was a comment under Angela's Ashes, but I wanted to turn it into a post because a) it's so brilliant : ) and b) I found something to add that really is brilliant and I don't want anyone to miss it. Here's what I wrote before:

Before delving into Hannah Coulter, I sped-read through McCourt's Teacher Man. Unusual for a person with a moniker like mine, I know, but it only took me two days! I think I like this book best of his other two (I'd read 'Tis years ago and can't remember much of it except being disappointed he'd become a drinker, although apparently not a "drunk" like his dad). His accounts of the classroom and his handling of it are fascinating. I'd come to the end of a chapter and decide "just one more." McCourt seems to have floated along in life without guiding principles, but in the end, he adhered to whatever forms or philosophy represented the opposite of his Catholic education. (We're getting quite a Catholic theme going here.) Anyway, other than one scene that seemed unnecessary in its depiction, this is an enjoyable book that rounds out our experience with Frank McCourt (although now I think I'd like to read Malachy's book).

Here's what I wanted to add:

I just read this article by a rabbi who tricked a disinterested classroom into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism. Now this is teaching. You'll enjoy it, and maybe want to use it with your children or students.

Wendell Berry

I just finished Hannah Coulter and found myself wanting more. Intrigued by the titles of some of his essays as listed with his other writings, I went searching and found this unofficial web site, Mr. Wendell Berry of Kentucky ("unofficial" because he doesn't own a computer and isn't hooked to the Internet). There are links to writings by and about him, including from his book What Are People For?, the answers to which tell a lot about a person. "The Burden of the Gospels," as published in Christian Century, was thought-provoking.