The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

by Katie, 

  

Our November story is a tale spanning five decades that follows a deep bond between brother and sister. From the synopsis I read, it seems we will have a classic wicked stepmother that sends our main characters from riches to rags.  We will follow Danny and Maeve as they overcome the hardships they will face after being sent out of their family home.  

Here are a few questions I took from bookriot.com that I think we might enjoy answering. 

 

1. Why was the story narrated from Danny’s perspective rather than Maeve’s? How might the story have been different if told from Maeve’s point of view? 

2. Many of reviews of The Dutch House have compared the story to a fairytale: abandoned children, a creepy old house, and evil stepmother…is this a fair comparison? If The Dutch House does have fairytale elements, what purpose does that serve in the story? 
3. After their stepmother kicks them out of the Dutch House, both Danny and Maeve remain obsessed with their childhood home. For instance, throughout the years, they often sit in a car outside of the house and just look at it. What explains their obsessions with this house? And how do their feelings about the house and about the meaning of “home” change with the passing years? 

 

I started reading our book and it is apparently set in my neighborhood.  While the house is a fictitious house, the neighborhoods of Elkins Park, Melrose Park and Jenkintown are quite real. I did not choose this novel because of the setting but it makes me look forward to reading further.  I look forward to hearing from you! 

Birthdays for the Dead by Stuart McBride

by Nancy,

 Here we go on our Stuart McBride Trilogy! Sue would be proud of us, reading the last book first, the ultimate in finding out the ending first! 

Does knowing the fate of some of the characters make a difference in how we view the events in this first novel?

I am really looking forward to learning the back story on all the characters.

Is there a character you like more or less from the Coffin Maker after reading Birthdays for the Dead?

We are introduced to the Birthday Boy. The crimes he commits are horrific beyond belief. Is this novel too gruesome for us?  Is the level of gruesome necessary?

My question from the Coffin Makers Garden still stands: Is this story plausible?  

Let's enjoy the ride!

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

by Katie,

Ms. Danticat is hailed as a novelist “who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti…” Goodreads says she will give us “vibrant imagery and narrative grace” in her work. 

Our story is about 12-year-old Sophie who is sent from the only home, country, and people she’s ever known to a new country and to a mother she doesn’t remember.  Our story travels between Haiti and the United States as Sophie uncovers truths about her family and what it means to be strong.  From what I have read looking for questions for our novel, our novel will involve a sexual trauma within this family’s history.  Going forward we may want to think about the following questions (which I borrowed from Readinggroupguids.com). 

Atie says to Sophie, "Your mother and I, when we were children we had no control over anything. Not even this body" (p. 20). How does this knowledge help Sophie shape her life? 

In what ways does Sophie take control of her own life as her mother and aunt never were able to? 

Breath, Eyes, Memory is primarily a story of the relationships between women: mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters. But there are two significant male characters in the novel, Joseph and Marc. 

Does Danticat depict Joseph and Marc as full, rounded-out characters, or do we see them only through Sophie's slanted point of view? 

How does Sophie express her ambivalent feelings about both of them? 

Why is she so angry with Marc after her mother's death? 

Do you feel that her anger is justified? 

Is it possible that Sophie's aloofness from both these men stems from her upbringing in an almost exclusively female world, where "men were as mysterious to me as white people" (p. 67)?

Do you believe that the three women in the sexual phobia group have comparable problems? 

Is the word "abuse" equally appropriate in each of their cases? 

How effective is their joint attempt to free themselves from their past? 

Is Buki's wrecked balloon a pessimistic symbol? 

Do you believe that the therapist's psychological tools are adequate to deal with the complex, culturally rooted problems of Sophie and Buki?

Despite the intense subject matter, I hope we find this book moving and insightful.  I look forward to hearing from you. 

The Coffin Makers Garden by Stuart McBride

by Nancy,

When I suggested this novel I was unaware it was part 4 in a series [sorry].  I am hoping this won't impact our understanding of the characters and story too much. Also, apologies for dragging you into my UK crime drama obsession haha.

The story is set on the east coast of Scotland and in Edinburg.  As a storm rages and erodes the cliff face and houses fall into the sea, bodies are uncovered and a horrible crime scene is exposed [sounds pretty creepy].

The pivotal character in the series, Ash Henderson, is on hand to solve the mystery.

Some questions to think about as we read.

Is the story plausible?

So often this genre can be unbelievable, Stuart McBride is a very experienced crime writer, but do you think this could actually happen?

Are there any plot twists that you were not expecting or that surprised you?

There are two simultaneous investigations going being conducted in the novel, one is a whodunit. Did you guess who the perpetrator was? 

Interpreter Of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

By Katie,

 

Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of short stories with themes revolving around love, immigration, belonging and heritage.  Book Magazine says of Lahiri’s short stories:

“There is not one false note here, not one misstep or hesitation.... Each of these nine stories has the capacity to amaze us.... "In Lahiri's sympathetic tales, the pang of disappointment turns into a sudden hunger to know more.... Lahiri's achievement is something like Twinkle's. She breathes unpredictable life into the page, and the reader finishes each story seduced, wishing he could spend a whole novel with its characters. There is nothing accidental about her success; her plots are as elegantly constructed as a fine proof in mathematics. To use the word Sanjeev eventually applies to Twinkle, Lahiri is 'wow.'"

Which novel was your favorite?  Which do you think could be turned into a longer novel?  Or which would you have preferred been part of a longer story?

How, if at all, do you feel the stories are connected?  Can we find similarities between the characters and their situations?

How did we feel about Ms. Lahiri’s choice in using the Interpreter of Maladies as the book’s name rather than one of the other stories?  Do we feel another story would have been a better choice in title? Or was this one fitting?

Happy reading! 

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

by Nancy,

All the characters begin the book standing on different lake shores --- Nina at Lake Baikal, Anneliese at Altaussee, Jordan at Selkie Lake, and Ian at the lake in Cologne. Nina and the Huntress clash for the first time at Lake Rusalka in Poland, and everyone comes together ultimately at the lake in Massachusetts. 

Maybe as we read we can think about how how the idea of the lake, and the rusalka lake spirit, weaves through THE HUNTRESS . 

Does it play an important role in the theme of the story?

 Jordan’s drive to become a photographer clashes with the expectations of her father --- and almost everyone else she knows --- that she will marry her high school boyfriend, work in the family business, and relegate picture-snapping to a hobby. How have expectations of career versus marriage changed for women since 1950?

 Throughout THE HUNTRESS, war criminals attempt to justify their crimes: Anneliese tells Jordan she killed as an act of mercy, and several witnesses tell Ian they were either acting under orders or ignorant of what was happening. Why do they feel the need to justify their actions, even if only to themselves? Do you think any of them are aware deep down that they committed evil acts, or are they all in denial?

The Night Witches earn their nickname from the Germans, who find their relentless drive on bombing runs terrifying, but the men on their own side haze them, mock them and call them “little princesses.” How does prejudice and misogyny drive the women of the Forty-Sixth to succeed? Did you know anything about the Night Witches before reading THE HUNTRESS?

Welcome back to us!!  

When I started looking for questions for this novel I got excited as there is so much to discuss, so many different stories weaving together. I am so happy to begin again!

I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

By Katie,

 

I know December is almost over and you are probably half through the first half of this novel as I am.  I feel like there is a lot of in this novel that would be missed if we tried to assess it all in one go so I feel that half in December and half in January is the best way to go.  Also with the holidays, reading can easily fall to the wayside. 

 

The man who “fathered” Dominick and Thomas is quite the mystery.  Do we have any theories as to who he could be? Do we believe we will ever get an answer to the Birdsey’s paternity?   

 

What about Nerda Frank? Do we think she ever returns? And Papa’s autobiography will ever return with answers for Dominick? 

 

How do we feel about the collapse of Dessa and Dominick’s marriage? And Dominick’s substitute relationship with Joy?  

 

There seems to be a lot to analyze in just the first half of the book!  I have not read any book club discussions like I usually do for this intro because I didn’t want to spoil anything for myself.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts!