Book Club Report: Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer

Our hostess for May's book club chose THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson for us to read - before the scandal erupted over alleged falsehoods in both of Mortenson's books and mismanagement of his charity CAI.  I was the sent the young readers version for review when it first came out, and read a few chapters back then.  I recall finding it a bit off-putting that Mortenson's co-writer engaged in some serious hero worship when it came to Mortenson, but I was looking forward to picking it up again and discussing it with the group.

But before I could even pick back up where I left off, I heard about Krakauer's 70 page expose THREE CUPS OF DECEIT (more info at Byliner.com) and I decided to read that instead.  Krakauer paints Mortenson as a good intentioned man who bought too heavily into his own myth.  It's a fascinating read with heartbreaking allegations. 

Naturally, the group didn't end up discussing Three Cups of Tea itself as much as we did the scandal.  I found it an especially enlightening discussion because the hostess and her husband (both of which were present) both come from Pakistan and were able to share insight into the cultural background there.  They also made excellent food and milk chai tea.  Yum!

I should probably also mention that I didn't finish the club's last two picks. In April we discussed THE SLAP by Christos Tsiolkas.  I got through two chapters before I threw the towel in because of the excess vulgarity. I did love our discussion though.  One member described it as middle class Melbourne residents who behave like gangsta rappers and have unhealthy fixations on bodily fluids.  Pure gold!

The March pick was THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN, of which I read about half.  It wasn't bad, I just ran out of time.  And now that the end is spoiled, I'm in no big hurry to finish.

And that's all for this month's report! Next meeting in June ...