The Thursday Book Club by Jen Webb

Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club (2020), set in a UK retirement centre, focuses on the changes in life style, identity and capacity that are often part of aging. The tag line for the novel is: ‘In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.’ For many readers and critics, it offers positive perspectives on the aging process, and the role of such ‘clubs’ to form connections, and break down isolation and loneliness. It is an extremely readable novel, written in accessible language and with a straightforward plot, making it an enjoyable read; an example of ‘comfy crime’ that also explores love, loss, sexuality, food, mental health, cognitive fitness; and perhaps most particularly, friendship. Alongside this are character portraits, elements of police procedural, the politics of retirement centres, and the lingering impact of historical crimes and mistakes.

The book club event runs for just an hour; Jen will open the discussion with a very brief commentary; this will be followed by a short Q&A involved her panellists; and then we throw it open to the audience for their questions, comments, insights, criticisms and their sense of the book – and, should they feel so moved – its effect on their own sense of aging, creativity and community.

Author, academic and critic Jen Webb will facilitate the conversation, with novelist/academic Tony Eaton, poet/editor Anita Patel, and members of the audience.