The Boys in the Boat, Week 4

Welcome to the final Online Book Club discussion of The Boys in the Boat.

What did you think of the ending? Did you love it? I found myself fighting back tears while I was reading the ending here at work. It was just so wonderful to read about how the boys were rewarded for their hard work, and I loved reading how all of their lives ended up after their college careers were finished. They all seemed like such amazing men. 

One thing I couldn't believe was how long it took Al Ulbrickson to create the exact right group that would prove to be unbeatable. It was such a hard process to figure out the exact right formula of guys! Were you surprised that it was such an exacting process? I was also surprised that each place in the boat had such a specific purpose. It just seemed to me that everyone was doing pretty much the same thing. I liked learning about Bobby Moch and how he was so perfect at his job. Each boy that ended up on the team had such an interesting backstory. 

Another thing that shocked me was how much the boys trained for so few competitions. They trained so hard for so many months, so it's wild that they only had two competitions a year. Can you imagine working that much for that little of a reward? They were really dedicated to the craft!

What did you think about all of the descriptions of Germany during the Olympics and all of the ways they were deceitful? They took down anti-Semetic signs and newspapers and polished and painted every surface. Could you believe they even put flowers outside of vacant apartments to make them look lived in? They thought of every single detail. It's amazing that they were able to trick so many people. How long do you think things stayed looking so nice? How soon after the Olympics were over did they put out all of the signs against the Jewish people? 

I was so nervous the whole time I was reading about the Olympic race, even though I knew the boys were going to win. I couldn't believe how sick Don Hume was throughout the race. What do you think happened to him when he seemed to be almost passed out? How did he recover and come back into his body? They definitely would not have been able to win if he had not had some ability to work past his sickness. What did you think of the fact that the boys were put in the worst outside lane? I wasn't really surprised that the Germans were cheating to try to make sure they were the winners. I was glad that they weren't rewarded for cheating. 

What else stuck out to you in this section? What details were the most interesting to you? Did you find yourself Googling anything to learn more? Would you recommend this book to anyone you know? 

Did this book make you want to read and watch other inspirational stories? Check out this list I created if you're looking for more movies and books like this one. Make sure to let me know if you check out something on the list! 

Make sure to check out the clip below to hear more about the gold medal race. When I first watched the clip, I was confused how there were so many close-up shots of the boys. But, when I read the final pages of the book, I learned that Leni Riefenstahl asked the boys to row for her the day after the race, so she could have different shots for her movie. Did you catch that part in the book? That was so interesting! It sure makes for really interesting historical footage now! 

Thank you so much for following along this month! I hope you enjoyed the book, and I can't wait to read your final thoughts in the comments. Next month, we'll be reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. I hope you'll read along with us in February!