Read along with us this month! For February we are discussing ASSEMBLY by Natasha Brown. This month our genre is BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), but we did not limit to America only. This short book is written by a British novelist. One of our club members reached out to a SMC professor for a book recommendation based on current reading at the college.

Synopsis:

This visionary and unflinching novel is about a black woman who has spent her life carefully navigating cutthroat worlds of privilege in her career and relationships—until one day she is pulled up short by a life and death decision.

Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Go to college, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things. Buy an apartment. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going.

The narrator of Assembly is a black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart?

If you would like to attend the meeting, please contact us and we will send you the address.