Have you ever had someone complain about a meal but eat every bite? They say the soup was cold and the potatoes were tasteless but every last morsel was gone. Makes you wonder about their credibility, doesn't it? If the meal was as bad as they say, why did they eat it all?

That is how I felt after book club on Tuesday. I had been looking forward to the discussion of Sue Monk Kidd's "Mermaid Chair" all month because it is in my top ten list of books. I loved this book. I liked "Secret Life of Bees" too. I think Sue Monk Kidd is a terrific writer. Her analogies are truly poetic. Her descriptions of the animal and plant life on Egret Island are amazing. When she describes her husband's annoying habits of puffing air out of his lips and tapping his razor on the bathroom sink three times, it's like you are really there. She writes about the charming friendship her mother has with her two best friends. The main character, Jesse, is selfish and immature but likeable. Her love interest, Whit, pretty much has his head up his butt. Her description of the mermaid chair is spot on.

But many people in the book club did not like this book. They said critical things such as, "She must have read "Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood" recently," and "These discussion questions at th end off teh book are an attempt by Penguin Books to make the book seem intelluctual - it's just not that deep." and "The author couldn't put her finger on the main plot." Fingers were a very important part of the book so that one really hurt because it was funny. They didn't like Jesse. They didn't like Whit. They thought Jesse's husband, Hugh, the puffer and razor tapper was a saint. They all agree she is a good writer. They suggested the book could be made into three books - one about Jesse and Hugh's relationship, one about Jesse's childhood, and another about the relationship between Jesse and Whit. The thing is, as much as most people in the book club complained, every last one of them read the entire book all the way to the end. And the book sparked a lively discussion.