The Ferrum Book Club meets every month except December on the third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. All are welcome to join for any or all discussions.
Books for 2027 will be proposed at the September meeting.
Location: Britt Hall 204, Ferrum Mountain Road, Ferrum, VA 24088
(Turn left into 3rd driveway from Rt. 40 on Ferrum Mountain Road to park behind Britt Hall.)
If anyone has mobility issues, the group can meet downstairs, not far from a ground-floor door and handicapped parking spots. Just let someone know.
Book for discussion on Sept. 21: Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips
Information from publicity on this book:
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all odds
“A tour de force.” —Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage
In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.
The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we learn their story: their flight to the highest mountain ridges of western Virginia; the disappearance of ConaLee’s father, who left for the War and never returned. Meanwhile, in the asylum, they begin to find a new path. ConaLee pretends to be her mother’s maid; Eliza responds slowly to treatment. They get swept up in the life of the facility—the mysterious man they call the Night Watch; the orphan child called Weed; the fearsome woman who runs the kitchen; the remarkable doctor at the head of the institution.
Epic, enthralling, and meticulously crafted, Night Watch is a stunning chronicle of surviving war and its aftermath.
Also known as the Time Traveler’s Book Club, this group usually discusses one novel per month – different kinds of novels chosen by the group in fall for the following year, and occasionally a nonfiction book.
This is a small community group open to anyone, not a Ferrum College organization. No sign-up or prior notice is required. If you haven’t finished a book (and don’t mind spoilers) or haven’t read the book but you’d like to hear a book discussion anyway and see what it’s like, just show up. Participants acquire the books on their own from a library or bookseller.
For more information and to get on the group’s email list, contact Lana Whited at Ferrum College, lwhited@ferrum.edu, or Susan Selvage, sselvage22@yahoo.com.
Oct. 19 Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? by Amanda Cockrell
Nov. 16 Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Roberts Guiffre
December – no meeting
