Mechanics' Hall Book Discussion Group (November)

The Mechanics’ Hall Book Discussion group meets to chat about books by exceptional thinkers and artists.

Everyone is welcome, and ongoing attendance is not required. The group is free for Mechanics' Hall Members.

Curious about the group but not a Mechanics' Hall member? You're invited to stop by! If you like what you hear, consider becoming a member.

NOVEMBER BOOK SELECTION

Feeney, Elaine How to Build a Boat (2023)

Two teachers and a teenage boy in western Ireland go through painful changes and, yes, learn to build a boat. Math-obsessed teenager Jamie O’Neill is raised by a single father after his mother died during childbirth. Literal-minded and sensitive, he keeps himself secure by making lists and working on his notes for a perpetual motion machine. So when he starts at a new school, run by the conservative Father Faulks and full of bullies, he's soon spending most of his time in the classroom of Tess Mahon, a kind English teacher with her own fractured family: a dead mother, an alcoholic father, and a cold husband.

They’re both drawn into the orbit of woodworking teacher Tadhg Foley, who proposes that an Irish boat, a currach, could satisfy Jamie’s desire for perpetual motion and keep him out of the sway of some of the more toxic boys. Feeney tracks both Jamie and Tess, and the sections following Jamie are the stronger. She uses a stream-of-consciousness first-person narration and poetic syntax to capture the boy (“I would like that solitude for this boat, / so / I resisted their invitation / but Mr Foley passed no notice”). Tess’ sections, written in a more traditional style, seem flat by comparison. The novel is an intensive probe of contemporary Irish society; the island’s culture of shame and silence is picked apart (one minor character exits with a defeated repetition of “We don’t talk about it”), as is the continuing influence of the Catholic Church.

But the characters find meaning in the currach and as well in the concept of meitheal, or communal effort. Jamie’s conflict is to reconcile the haphazard construction of the boat and the perfect machine he has imagined. He must leave his comfort zone, just as Tess must leave the safe prison of her marriage.

Feeney has insights into boyhood and, more importantly, has written a great boy to help her tell them.

[Kirkus Reviews]

FULL LIST OF SELECTIONS

October 9: Dividing Lines: How Transportation Infrastructure Reinforces Racial Inequality by Deborah Archer (2025)

November 4: How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney(2023)

December 2: The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves (2024)

January 6: One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game that Brought a Divided Town Together by Amy Bass (2018)

February 3: James by Percival Everett(2024)

March 3: The CIA Book Club: The Secret Mission to Win the Cold War with Forbidden Literature by Charlie English (2025)

May 5: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (2022)

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

Mechanics’ Hall is located at 519 Congress Street. Our main entrance is between Loquat Shop and the Art Mart. The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.

Parking is available at the Arts District Garage, which has entrances on Casco and Brown Street, with a rate of $5 per hour. Metered street parking is available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and other nearby streets. Free hourly street parking is available between Parris and Alder Street.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step. There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator and a ramp available upon request.

If you have a wheelchair or need accessibility accommodations/questions please contact us at programming@mainemechanics.org or 207-773-8396.