Fortunately, Daddy-Long-Legs actually better known in Japan than it is in the US. Many members of the book club knew the story; some had read it themselves, and all of them had heard of it before. Due to the time period in which it was written and the creative writing style of the main character, it was a challenging read for them, but I am happy to say they all worked hard and excelled! The book club had about nine regular members, including Local Nate, who provided indispensable backup help with his English skills and his iphone, on which he looked up stuff neither of us knew.
I wouldn't want to spoil the story for any of you who may want to read it yourself, but the basic premise is as follows. Jerusha Abbott, an orphan who just finished high school, is given the opportunity to go to college by a wealthy Trustee of her orphanage. He will pay for her tuition, board, and even give her an allowance, but in return, she must write him a letter once a month. She is not to know his name or really anything about him, but is to address him as Mr. John Smith. Jerusha, who shortly becomes known as Judy, begins her first letter by reprimanding him for his boring choice of pseudonym and decides to call him Daddy-Long-Legs, since the one glimpse she got of his silhouette gave her an impression of tallness. It's great fun!
Since I like the book so much, I was fairly sure I'd enjoy the book club. In fact, I had a fantastic time and looked forward to our sessions each week as much (if not more!) as any other part of my job. For each session, I prepared a worksheet with reading questions, vocabulary, sentences to evaluate, and occasional assignments. We also did some warm-up activities, pair and group work, and we even evaluated a poem that Judy had to write an essay about. Though several members complained vehemently about the incomprehensibility of the poem, they came up with some great ideas!
While I made sure to get through the reading questions each time so that everyone was clear on the content, I wasn't too concerned with hitting every item on the worksheet during our sessions. I asked questions and solicited opinions in order to keep the conversation flowing, but when a discussion took off, I just let it go. Our topics of discussion included such gems as the nature of happiness, American and European literature, raising and disciplining children, philanthropy in America, and socialism. In the process, we had a ton of fun and learned a lot about the English language, and that goes for Nate and me, too!
We finished up with a Book Club Potluck Party at Nate's place, where I received many encouraging comments from the book club members. I'm hoping to do another one in a few months just so that we can all hang out again! But in truth, the book club was an awesome experience which really helped solidify my future plans. Thanks to everyone who helped out!
Here's a picture from the party, which all of the regular members were able to attend. Japanese people don't always smile in pictures, but I assure you that we had a grand old time!!
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