Hillsborough Sun

The Antrim Eclectic Book Club

Steve Ullman, Coordinator

On August 18th, between 2:25 and 3:15 p.m. at the James A. Tuttle Library, the Antrim Eclectic Book Club will discuss Pete Hamill’s Snow in August.

The central character in Hamill’s novel is Michael, an 11-year-old Irish, Catholic boy who, surprisingly enough, develops a keen friendship with a refugee Czechoslovakian rabbi. This relationship conjures up  powerful hostility among Irish gang members in his neighborhood. To counter his peers’ antagonism, Michael calls upon a “golem”, a heroic figure drawn from Jewish folklore to protect him.

Here are some possible discussion topics for this session:

1. What is the central theme of Hamill’s book?

2. Is Michael a believable eleven-year-old? 

3. Why did the friendship between Michael and Rabbi Hirsch develop?

4. What is the significance of the mythology, both Irish and Jewish, in this book?

5. What did you think of the ending?

 

Free copies of the book will be available at the Library. For further information please email Steve Ullman at stephenhullman@gmail.  We warmly welcome newcomers to our book lovers’ group.

Original source can be found here.