Book group meeting

The book we read was SATURDAY by Ian McEwen. The discussion was lively. Because Henry Perowne, a brain surgeon, recognized his assailant had Huntington's disease. The propositon posed by the author was that the mind and the soul are all part of the brain. The brain is an organism, matter. If we could solved all the intricacies of the brain, we would learn the origins of human behavior. So the discussion went, is all behavior decided by our genetics or is it governed by our social environment? Can we be educated to be peaceful and responsible or is that part of our DNA? The new member of the group expressed the idea that newborn infants already have their personalities in place. That children have the same mannerisms as their parents. But couldn't that be learned. The story of Dr. Perowne's Saturday is all absorbing. His squash game is described in such vivid detail, that you know it is a metaphor. He is expressing the anger and
humiliation he experienced with his confrontation with Baxter, a thug, as a result of a minor auto accident. He is purging himself with the ferocity of the squash game. The rest of the story has
exciting action and a conclusion that leads to much discussion. We had a most exhilarating meeting. I highly recommend the book.