It's only two weeks since we launched The Observer Book Group, but already there has been plenty of conflicting opinion on our online talkboard. The two books we chose for this month - Monica Ali's acclaimed debut novel, Brick Lane, and George Orwell's often neglected third novel, Keep the Aspidistra Flying - are both available to Observer readers at a discounted price from the number below, and past reviews can be found on our website.
As expected, Brick Lane has excited the most discussion among readers so far, though most contributors were still in the early stages of reading it. We asked if Ali's portrayal of the lives of Muslim women in the East End should be judged on how truthfully it represents this community, after some British Bengalis criticised the novel for a narrow depiction of their society (as reported by Fareena Alam on the Book Group talkboard).
'Monica Ali shouldn't have to answer questions on this that wouldn't be put to Graham Swift or Beryl Bainbridge,' says 'joelondon', while 'shelagh53' questions whether a novel's characters should ever be expected to 'represent' a community: 'Surely that's called stereotyping?' she asks. 'Glynh' applauds Ali's eye for detail, describing the book as 'thought-provoking, amusing and, ultimately, strangely moving'.
We also wondered whether Orwell was right to have dismissed his early fiction, including Keep the Aspidistra Flying, in the light of his later achievements. 'Pippa' suggests that the novel does 'hint at the totalitarian terror described in his great novels', while 'kratoey' feels that the book is best judged by considering Orwell's background in choosing the life of a down and out, saying: 'He's pulling that most English of stunts - taking the piss out of himself.'
For this month, we have chosen Pat Barker's new novel, Double Vision, and John Wyndham's classic, The Day of the Triffids. Barker won the Booker Prize in 1995 for The Ghost Road, part of her Regeneration trilogy, one of the most acclaimed fictional treatments of the First World War.
Double Vision looks at war in a modern context. Stephen Sharkey is a foreign correspondent who has covered most of the world's recent conflicts. Leaving his job for a quieter life - writing the biography of his colleague who was killed in Afghanistan - Stephen finds that a sleepy English village is not necessarily immune from the violence and inhumanity he has tried to escape. We will review the book on 17 August, but readers can order early copies from the number below.
10 July marked the centenary of Wyndham's birth, and The Day of the Triffids, first published in 1954, was his first big success and remains the best-known of his chilling tales of civilisations threatened by monsters and aliens.
Wyndham disliked the label 'science-fiction' (he described his books as 'logical fantasies'), and it might be argued that Triffids, in which deadly carnivorous plants invade Britain, has even acquired an extra degree of pertinence in an age troubled by the unknown consequences of messing with genetics. We look forward to reading your responses to both novels.
· To order Double Vision for £11.89 (rrp £16.99) plus £1.99 p&p, or The Day of the Triffids for £5.99 (rrp £6.99) with free UK p&p, call 0870 066 7808 and quote Observer Reading Group. To join our online discussion, visit www.observer.co.uk/bookgroup or email comments to book.group@observer.co.uk
