I have to wait until all the questionnaires are in before I can really go through and pick out themes, etc. Thanks to everyone who has told people about the project – including the Iris Murdoch Society itself! And I’ve had a little spate of groups wanting to join recently, as word continues to spread (people are reading the book up to January 2012 so do get in touch if you’d like to join in before then). I’ve sent out 24 questionnaires so far and had 9 sets of responses back – several of the groups who still have questionnaires to answer have either read the book very recently or wanted to have the questionnaires in advance, so I’m confident I’ll get many more of them back before the end. 29 groups have agreed to take part so far – mainly reading groups but also a couple of classes of students who are studying the book, with their tutors reporting back to me. For those who don’t know about it, there’s a page here on my website explaining the background, and I’ve done a series of posts about how it’s all going, which you can find in the Iris Murdoch category. I thought it was about time for another update on how my Iris Murdoch and Book Groups project is going. The story of the marriage adds an extra dimension which means it would attract people who are more interested in human interest and relationships. This book would appeal to people who like reading about exactly what it’s like to live in a new country, or a particular country, as well as those interested in aid and development. I found very few typos in this small press offering, by the way, which was refreshing. I’d have liked a bit more detail and context (this is because it was a good read and I wanted more!), as well as some photographs or drawings and amybe a what happened next section for all of the characters we meet. Interesting and honest, although short, and the sections were a little abrupt and disjointed. Two years in Bhutan described by an Australian man, with a mix of life there as a rare Westerner and the effects of and on his rather hasty marriage to a French aid worker that allows him to be with her and stay in the country. Library Thing Early Reviewers’ Programme – arrived 05 July 2011

In Cold Domain by Anne Fine