Hi All
Just wanted to confirm that book club is not the 31st July but the 7th August - e.g. in two weeks.
Hopefully I was the only one with the confusion :)
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Evening Folks,
A few questions to ponder ......
1. Why does Vance feel the cycle of generational poverty is persistent in the Appalachian Region and the cities nearby?
2. While Vance’s income bracket has clearly shifted has he become one of “these people”or do his childhood experiences excuse him from acknowledging his current privilege?
3. Do you think it is possible to completely shift one’s identity from one class to another?
What are the factors that define social class and how is membership determined?
4. Is it possible to look at how class and family affect the poor without considering race?
What does Vance mean when he says “filtering their views through a racial prism”?
5. How does Vance portray people receiving government asssistance?
How does this compare with his portrayal of his own family’s poverty?
What other factors might impact the way people prioritise their spending?
6. What role does globalisation play in industrialised communities like Middletown?
7. Were Vance and Mamaw enabling his mother to continue using drugs by helping her pass the drug test?
Does his analysis of the drug epidemic provide a clear portrait of the problems facing America?
8. Throughout the book Vance draws repeated attention to the element of personal responsibility, perhaps nowhere so clearly as relating Mamaw’s. flood parable “God helps those who help themselves”.
Where else do you see this tension between personal responsibility and the need for familial, governmental or social support?
9. Pg 205 “ I had lied to a stranger to avoid feeling like a traitor”
Vance has achieved everything Mamaw wished for him so why does his success feel like a betrayal?
10. Vance suggests that unemployment and addiction are self inflicted and the Appalachian culture is one of learned helplessness.
Do you agree with Vance’s assessment?
How do systems work to discourage upward mobility and keep people in their social groups?
11. Can one persons experience represent an entire group?
Is Vance’s book more successful as a memoir or as a cultural analysis? Why/Why not?
I could go on but I think that may be enough for one night!! See you all at Tahnee’s 7th Aug.
Irene
A few questions to ponder ......
1. Why does Vance feel the cycle of generational poverty is persistent in the Appalachian Region and the cities nearby?
2. While Vance’s income bracket has clearly shifted has he become one of “these people”or do his childhood experiences excuse him from acknowledging his current privilege?
3. Do you think it is possible to completely shift one’s identity from one class to another?
What are the factors that define social class and how is membership determined?
4. Is it possible to look at how class and family affect the poor without considering race?
What does Vance mean when he says “filtering their views through a racial prism”?
5. How does Vance portray people receiving government asssistance?
How does this compare with his portrayal of his own family’s poverty?
What other factors might impact the way people prioritise their spending?
6. What role does globalisation play in industrialised communities like Middletown?
7. Were Vance and Mamaw enabling his mother to continue using drugs by helping her pass the drug test?
Does his analysis of the drug epidemic provide a clear portrait of the problems facing America?
8. Throughout the book Vance draws repeated attention to the element of personal responsibility, perhaps nowhere so clearly as relating Mamaw’s. flood parable “God helps those who help themselves”.
Where else do you see this tension between personal responsibility and the need for familial, governmental or social support?
9. Pg 205 “ I had lied to a stranger to avoid feeling like a traitor”
Vance has achieved everything Mamaw wished for him so why does his success feel like a betrayal?
10. Vance suggests that unemployment and addiction are self inflicted and the Appalachian culture is one of learned helplessness.
Do you agree with Vance’s assessment?
How do systems work to discourage upward mobility and keep people in their social groups?
11. Can one persons experience represent an entire group?
Is Vance’s book more successful as a memoir or as a cultural analysis? Why/Why not?
I could go on but I think that may be enough for one night!! See you all at Tahnee’s 7th Aug.
Irene
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine Review
Thanks for a fabulous evening ladies. Your honest and well thought out answers to the questions have left me feeling humbled and appreciative of your fine company.
The book was positively received by all.
Scores and pithy comments:
Anne-Marie 8/10 Touching
Trilby 8/10 An entertaining transformation
Tahnee 8/10 Refreshing
Emma-Lee 9/10 Nature or nurture
Colleen 7/10 A sad beginning leading to a positive future
Irene 9/10 A delightful dissection of social interactions that frighteningly mirrors my inner thoughts. Tragic and triumphant
Viv 8/10 A dark story told with lightness
Mel 8/10 The healing power of social connection
Next months book from Irene is Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance and will be hosted at Tahnee's house.
Mel
The book was positively received by all.
Scores and pithy comments:
Anne-Marie 8/10 Touching
Trilby 8/10 An entertaining transformation
Tahnee 8/10 Refreshing
Emma-Lee 9/10 Nature or nurture
Colleen 7/10 A sad beginning leading to a positive future
Irene 9/10 A delightful dissection of social interactions that frighteningly mirrors my inner thoughts. Tragic and triumphant
Viv 8/10 A dark story told with lightness
Mel 8/10 The healing power of social connection
Next months book from Irene is Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance and will be hosted at Tahnee's house.
Mel
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (Questions)
Hello All,
Apologies for the delay in posting. I'm looking forward to seeing you all tonight.
My address is : 310 Queens Rd Wandin East ( if you're coming from Seville, we are just past the Wandin East Rd crossroad on the left hand side). We have a long driveway and there is 2 houses on the property, mine is the larger and I will have lots of lights on. My mobile number is 0438 643857.
Questions
1. Knowing the truth about Eleanor’s family, look back through the book to revisit her exchanges with her mother. Did you see what was ahead? How did Honeyman lay the groundwork for the final plot twist?
2. What are the different ways that the novel’s title could be interpreted? What do you think happens to Eleanor after the book ends?
3. Eleanor says, “These days, loneliness is the new cancer—a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted” (p. 227). Do you agree?
4. What does Raymond find appealing about Eleanor? And why does Eleanor feel comfortable opening up to Raymond?
5. Eleanor is one of the most unusual protagonists in recent fiction, and some of her opinions and actions are very funny. What were your favorite moments in the novel?
6. “Did men ever look in the mirror, I wondered, and find themselves wanting in deeply fundamental ways? When they opened a newspaper or watched a film, were they presented with nothing but exceptionally handsome young men, and did this make them feel intimidated, inferior, because they were not as young, not as handsome?” (p. 74). Eleanor’s question is rhetorical and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but worth answering. What are your thoughts? If men don’t have this experience, why not? If they do, why is it not more openly discussed?
7. Eleanor is frightened that she may become like her mother. Is this a reasonable fear? What is the balance of nature and nurture?
8. Is it possible to emerge from a traumatic childhood unscathed?
9. Eleanor says, “If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say” (p. 226–227). Why is this the case?
Mel :)
Apologies for the delay in posting. I'm looking forward to seeing you all tonight.
My address is : 310 Queens Rd Wandin East ( if you're coming from Seville, we are just past the Wandin East Rd crossroad on the left hand side). We have a long driveway and there is 2 houses on the property, mine is the larger and I will have lots of lights on. My mobile number is 0438 643857.
Questions
1. Knowing the truth about Eleanor’s family, look back through the book to revisit her exchanges with her mother. Did you see what was ahead? How did Honeyman lay the groundwork for the final plot twist?
2. What are the different ways that the novel’s title could be interpreted? What do you think happens to Eleanor after the book ends?
3. Eleanor says, “These days, loneliness is the new cancer—a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted” (p. 227). Do you agree?
4. What does Raymond find appealing about Eleanor? And why does Eleanor feel comfortable opening up to Raymond?
5. Eleanor is one of the most unusual protagonists in recent fiction, and some of her opinions and actions are very funny. What were your favorite moments in the novel?
6. “Did men ever look in the mirror, I wondered, and find themselves wanting in deeply fundamental ways? When they opened a newspaper or watched a film, were they presented with nothing but exceptionally handsome young men, and did this make them feel intimidated, inferior, because they were not as young, not as handsome?” (p. 74). Eleanor’s question is rhetorical and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but worth answering. What are your thoughts? If men don’t have this experience, why not? If they do, why is it not more openly discussed?
7. Eleanor is frightened that she may become like her mother. Is this a reasonable fear? What is the balance of nature and nurture?
8. Is it possible to emerge from a traumatic childhood unscathed?
9. Eleanor says, “If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say” (p. 226–227). Why is this the case?
Mel :)
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