Book Club: Read ‘The Calamity Club,’ by Kathryn Stockett, With the Book Review

Welcome to the Book Review Book Club! Every month we select a book to discuss with our readers. Last month we read “Switzy, by Emma Cline. (You can also find past book club discussions in the Book Review podcast feed.)

Book popularity works in mysterious ways. There are the buzzy “it” books, the new releases that everyone seems to be talking about loudly, publicly, all at once. Then there are the quiet mainstays, the books that perhaps don’t dominate the conversation but that steadily and consistently court passionate readers.

“The Calamity Club,” by Kathryn Stockett, is definitely in the latter category. It’s Stockett’s second novel, following up her 2009 lightning rod, “The Help.” Since it published in May, it has spent 25 weeks and counting on the New York Times best-seller list. It is also one of the books New York Times readers have said they most want to read, using our “have read/want to read” save buttons.

You spoke; we listened — let’s talk about the novel for book club!

“The Calamity Club” is a sweeping, 600-page historical dramedy set in 1930s Mississippi. The story follows two heroines who are both trying to change their fate. First, there’s 24-year-old Birdie. To help her family avoid financial ruin, she heads to Oxford to ask her sister, who recently married into a wealthy family, for money. However, she soon discovers that her in-laws are hiding troubles of their own.

Then there’s 11-year-old Meg, who desperately wants to leave The Lafayette County Orphan Asylum, where she has been stuck for two years since her mother disappeared. Unfortunately, her chances of being adopted are diminishing as she grows older. To make matters worse, the orphanage’s director seems to have it out for her.

As Birdie and Meg’s stories intertwine, the novel explores family, class and social striving — what people do to get by and what lurks behind the scenes outwardly perfect home lives.

In November, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “The Calamity Club,” by Kathryn Stockett. We’ll be chatting about it on the Book Review podcast that airs on Nov. 27, and we’d love for you to join the conversation. Share your thoughts about the book in the comments section of this article by Nov. 19, and we may mention your observations in the episode.

Here’s some reading to get you started.

Our review of “The Calamity Club”: “It’s all about plot, baby, and that plot, for the most part, delivers. … All this action is carried relentlessly forward on the surf of Stockett’s full-hearted, down-to-earth prose.” Read the review.
Our profile of Kathryn Stockett, about how the author returned to writing and what she learned from “The Help”: “Instead of getting defensive and having the big red stop sign, keep the conversation alive. … It’s not about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about talking and storytelling, being vested in each other’s stories.” Read the profile.
Our 2009 review of “The Help”: “Problematic but ultimately winning. … She’s interested in the affection and intimacy buried beneath even the most seemingly impersonal household connections.” Read the review.
Our 2009 article about how readers responded to “The Help” when it came out. Read the full article here.