November Book Club :At First Light

Mine came too. I have still to finish the October book......

Thank you for my copy which has just arrived - I am looking forward to reading it ( I just need to finish my current book first!)

Mine has just arrived too.....but I must do some housework!

Mine has just arrived, I’ll start it later. Thank you

Thank you for my copy. I’d forgotten all about it as the previous monthly books had got a bit late.

I've received a copy today, too. Thank you. Just got a book to finish - nearly there, then will start this one.

Thank you for my copy which arrived today. Very excited as I have never won anything before.

Mine arrived today. Thank you GN, looking forward to reading it.

Thanks for the book, received today.

Many thanks for my copy of At First Light, it came this morning. I`m looking forward to reading it after enjoying Vanessa LaFaye`s last book, which I also won on GN.

Thank you for my copy too. It's always nice to hear a book thudding onto the doormat!

Thank you very much for my copy which I received this morning, and I hope I enjoy it as much as I did her previous book!

Thank you again for the November book Gransnet.
A book that compels you to read, read, read until you reach the end and as book I was sorry to come to a finale. A fascinating look at an era in American history that is often avoided by most authors.
Question for Vanessa
Did you find it emotionally draining to study this period of your native country's dark history?

Thanks too for my copy. Looking forward to starting it after finishing the last couple of chapters in my current book.

Thank you for my copy. I loved Summertime and am looking forward to reading this very much. I thought other readers might also be interested in the author's very moving cancer blog which i have been following via social media vanessalafaye.wordpress.com/living-while-dying/
Vanessa I find your writing an inspiration

Thank you for my copy. I am halfway through it already. This wouldn't have been a book I would have picked up to buy but I find it hard to put down, so the author has obviously worked really well on this to keep my interest so focused. A lot of interesting history info too.

Excellent,very readable book which draws the reader in. It gives an insight into the awfulness of the Klu Klux Klan and makes you wonder about its part in American society today.

This wouldn’t have been an obvious choice for me but I enjoyed it. The Klan sends shivers down my spine and I am aware parts of the USA remain relatively intolerant of racial difference. It is a challenging book in some respects but also easy to read, it didn't take long to finish. The questions I had were answered at the end of the book, many helpful explanations. I’ll look out for more writing from this author,

Cornergran, have you read Summertime, by the same author? Another good read.

Well Gransnet team you have done it again, chosen a wonderful book. I must admit that, as usual, I would not have chosen to read it..I would have missed an amazingly well written book.
The characters are so well drawn. There is John the soldier returned from WW1,damaged by what he has seen and the friends he has lost. He vows never to get attached to anyone ever again until he meets Alicia. She is a beautiful Cuban of mixed race who has also had a troubled past with a bullying husband. Despite his vow he falls in love.
The emergence of the KKK in the Keys is frighteningly real. I felt the tension rise as they formed into a crusading gang who hated Jews, black people and anyone who was not like them. Even the police are involved, so there is no law enforcement to prevent the terrible deeds.
I did not know much about the Klan before I read this book and it really opened my eyes to the cruelty inflicted upon innocent people because of their faith or colour of their skin. Most joined through fear but others were just swept along by the rhetoric.
I won’t write any spoilers as some may not have finished it but I will say that it made me cry,a lot! I am now going off to buy Summertime by the same author. I have really any questions as most are answered at the back of the book,but I would like to congratulate Vanessa Lafayette for giving me so much enjoyment.

Thanks again Gransnet for a thought provoking read. As others have already said, this isn't a book I would have chosen.
I knew relatively little about this period of American history and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan prior to reading 'At First Light' but Lafaye's writing is so vivid and well researched, drawing the reader in to the story. From the Further Reading section at the end of the novel, you appreciate how the author has studied every aspect of life at the time. This novel is far more layered than a simple love story. Alicia and Morales are complex, fully rounded characters, who develop as the novel progresses. All the characters, even the more minor ones, are deftly drawn and will stay in my mind for some time....always the sign of a good read!
I liked the Questions for Discussion at the end, particularly the last one...given the impact of Trump's presidency on the apparent resurgence of the KKK. That said, I found the character of Dwayne a symbol of hope, in his ability to walk away from the prejudice of others and make his own mind up.
Any questions I had were answered by the concluding sections so I'd simply like to express my thanks and admiration to the author.

This is a book I would have been attracted to on a shelf in a bookshop so I was delighted to receive a copy. A love story,a young boy who makes a terrible mistake to impress his violent father and the Klu Klux Klan, all this in one story. The only knowledge I had of the KKK is a memory of seeing films on the TV as a child where they were dressed in white and marching through the street holding fire torches out to get some poor soul. They terrified me ! Reading of them within a story was just as frightening. This was a really good read and because the story really started near the end draws you into finding out what happened to Alicia to make her commit murder. I haven't read the author's other book yet but I will be rectifying that soon. Although Vanessa answered many of the questions I had in my head at the end of the book I would like to ask her if during her research did she visit Key West or speak to anyone who might have been told stories by their families about that time in Key West's history ?

A terrific book I needed to read although I would never have bought.
As I have got older I have found anything to do with inhumanity rather sobering and a wrong that can never be righted, the fact that such inhumanity and bigotry is still going on is truly sickening.
The characters are strong and well developed and as they are real people brought to life on the pages it must have been hard for the author to try and portray to do them justice without changing them.

Thank you GN for introducing books that make us come out of our perceived choice of easy reading and "comfy books".