Hi all,
Tonight’s Bookclub questions for “After Darkness” by Christine Piper.

1. How did the books title reflect the story told by Piper? What was the ‘Darkness’?
2. How did you find the 3 narratives? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story as she did?
3. What feelings did the book evoke?
4. Which character did you find  most attractive? Why?
5. If you could choose one key message what would it be?

See you tonight.  Lot 1, Karloo Lane, Seville.

Anne-Maree

The Survivors by Kate Furnival

Tahnee 6 enjoyable but a bit fanciful towards the end
Trilby 5 a page turner but suffered in comparison to the simplicity and truth of the previous novel
AnnMarie 7 ahh mmmmm oooh uh ummm not very articulate but acceptable
Colleen 5 started out well but finished like a fairy story

A tiny group but enjoyable night, AnnMarie saved it from being a family function.  Those who didn't attend missed out on a Christmas present.

February book After Darkness by Christine Piper at AnnMaries

Merry Christmas

THE SURVIVORS

Book Club is at Colleen's 1844 Warburton Highway Woori Yallock. 7.30pm

Questions are not done yet.  You will receive them tonight.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

Thank-you to everyone who came to Book Club last night. We all have busy lives; however, I always appreciate the conversations we have and seeing you all when Book Club comes around. Cake and wine probably helps...

The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris

A rare thing saw us all quite liking this book, which doesn't happen very often here at TFTBC.  Wine glasses were smashed (yes plural) and a motion was passed that all pithy comments must be original material. Someone rated my Peach and Pineapple champagne cocktail 'tasteless' and a pregnancy was announced - those that didn't attend will have to wait until next month  to find out who did what : ).

Kaye                         7/10 A story of love and survival.

Ann - Marie              8/10 What Kaye said.

Emma-Lee                8/10 Love was the power.

Georgia                     7/10 The things we do for love ba ba ba ba bah

Mel                           7/10 A remarkable tale of human survival.

Colleen                     8/10 Another war story that needs to be told.

Irene                          7/10 Too novelised, truth was distracted by fiction.

Trilby                        7/10 Left his mark on may people, in more ways than one.

Tahnee                       7/10 Lest we forget

Viv                            7/10 Story of beauty found amid an ugly world.

Apologies:                 Tamara, Meaghan


Our next meeting is our Christmas Breakup, there is no meeting in January.

Decembers meeting will be at the Yarra Valley Craft Retreat https://yarravalleycraftretreat.com.au/ in Woori Yallock.

The book we will be discussing is 'The Survivors' by Kate Furnivall.



Happy Reading 'till December - Tahnee x

The Tattooist of Auschwitz Book by Heather Morris

Hello All, Book Club, is at my house tomorrow. I am yet to post questions, but am looking forward to seeing you all. Tahnee x

The Mars Room Reviews

glitter maker

Georgia- 6/10- A really good draft.
Trilby- ?/10- Some really good sentences, but I feel like I am wading through it.
Viv- 6/10- An insightful perspective to justice. Easier to read as it went on.
Tahnee- 3/10- Orange is the new beige. Managed to be chaotic and boring.
Irene- 3/10- lost me at 24%
Annemarie- Glad I read 'Little Fires'
Kaye- 4/10- Felt like I was doing the time with her.
Emma-lee- 5/10- Tow sides to every story, but this story dragged on in the middle.

http://picasion.com/gl/a6yh/

At My House in Seville on this TUESDAY 2nd OCT 


Feel free to park up the driveway going up to our shed, in the spaces around our house or on the nature strip at the bottom of the driveway. We can fit 10 cars on our property, just please don't block the driveway access to next doors house (even though they are away, it'll be just my luck her mum will turn up). 

I am looking forward to hosting you all. Please RSVP so I can cater appropriately. If easier, my number is 0412552476 

Discussion Questions

1. At the beginning of the book, before she is incarcerated, Romy Hall, the central protagonist of The Mars Room, says, “I said everything was fine but nothing was. The life was being sucked out of me. The problem was not moral. It had nothing to do with morality. These men dimmed my glow. Made me numb to touch, and angry” (page 26). What role do morality and virtue play in the telling of Romy’s story? Does morality factor into who is judged guilty and who is judged innocent?

2. The overwhelming majority of people, and certainly middle-class people, will never spend a single day of their lives in jails and prisons. Should those who don’t have that dark destiny worry for those who do? What impression do you have, after reading The Mars Room, about individual agency, and who goes to prison in this country and who doesn’t?

3. “Sammy was my big sister and I was Button’s, and Conan was something like the dad. We had a family” (page 241). In order to cope with their difficult surroundings the women of Stanville create familial bonds with each other. Do these women nurture one another or is their “family” more of an alliance of protection? What are the benefits of a “family” arrangement? The risks?

4. After recounting an emotional story from childhood, Conan says, “There are some good people out there . . . some really good people” (page 252). Discuss the acts of generosity in this novel. Which ones stand out? These women seem to start at disadvantages. They take wrong turns. The prison system lacks mercy or a shot at redemption. Would many of these characters’ lives have been different with more, or greater, acts of generosity?

5. Straining the edges of a reader’s compassion perhaps is the character Doc, the “dirty cop” who had been involved with Betty LaFrance and is eventually strangled by his cellmate. Why do you think Kushner included him and his story in the book? Does he achieve a kind of unexpected likability, and if so, how?

6.  Romy says, “To stay sane you formed a version of yourself you could believe in” (page 269), and earlier, “Jackson believed in the world” (page 156). Kushner makes a connection between the wide-eyed optimism of youth and the crushing realities of what the world can be for those born without power or wealth, and for those who have made irreversible mistakes. Discuss the role that Jackson serves in the novel. What does he symbolize to Romy?

7. “Part of the intimacy with nature that you acquire is the sharpening of the senses. Not that your hearing and eyesight become more acute, but you notice things more” (page 299). This is presumably the voice of Ted Kaczynski, but its placement suggests a link to Romy’s escape into nature. Why does she end up alone in the woods? What does this say about the human need for connection with the outside? In what other ways does Romy seem to be shut off from the outside world? What role could a connection with nature play in rehabilitation?

8. What role does gender play throughout the novel? What differences did you see between the experiences of incarcerated men and incarcerated women? How did gender factor into Romy’s trial and sentencing?

9.  Serenity Smith is a transgender woman whose presence generates an outsized reaction from the women of Stanville. Discuss the controversy among the prisoners concerning this character. How do their surroundings contribute to their reaction to her? And what does Serenity’s predicament say about the structure of prison? What is society to do with people who cannot assimilate into the caged spaces allotted for them?

10. . Hauser can be seen in different lights. Was he a predator, or was he a man who meant well but could not resist temptation? Discuss the effects of his actions on Romy.

11. The Mars Room comes from the name of the strip club where Romy works before she is incarcerated. What does the phrase “Mars Room” bring to mind? What do these two worlds—a central California women’s prison and a San Francisco strip club—share?

12.  In the final moments of the book, Romy is in the forest, bathed in light: “I emerged from the tree and turned into the light, not slow. I ran toward them, toward the light” (page 336). There is something both heavenly and hellish in this description. Discuss the dichotomies: Is the scene ultimately despairing or hopeful?

13.  In the final paragraph of the book, Romy reflects on giving Jackson life. She calls giving life “everything.” Is this a comment on her own life, or some manner of reinterpreting life as extending into other regions beyond the one she’s been given and that has been taken away? Is it some way of being part of something in the world that is larger than she is and that goes beyond her? What is the import of the final sentence? Is your sense that the world, at the end, is a human world, a natural world, both, or neither?

Hi Friends,
So, it's my turn to host. I bit the bullet and volunteered myself. I am in Seville and I will give my address and questions closer to the date.
The book I have chosen is called 'The Mars Room' by Rachel Kushner.
I am looking forward to the chats about it.
See you in a few weeks,
Emma-lee. 😀

Cat's Eye Discussion Questions

Hi Everyone!

Looking forward to having you all over tomorrow evening to discuss 'Cat's Eye' by Margaret Atwood.

Here are my discussion questions:

1. What does Margaret Atwood's novel Cat's Eye say about the nature of childhood and the development of adolescent friendships? Is there a gender influenced difference in cruelty between boys as opposed to cruelty as expressed by girls? At what point does adolescent meanness become pathological?

2. What does the way that the girls play with each other tell us about them and how they are conditioned by their society? Has this changed since Elaine’s generation was adolescent, or does much the same hold true today? How does the way that Elaine plays with her brother differ from the way she plays with girls? How does bullying differ between boys and girls?

3. Why do you think Elaine returns to Toronto and what does she hope to accomplish? Was the trip necessary? If so, Why? What role does this return play in the structure of the novel?

4. Elaine is haunted by Cordelia, her "best friend" and the tormentor of her childhood. All predators must have a motive. What benefit did Cordelia receive out of tormenting Elaine? What weakness in Elaine made her particularly vulnerable to Cordelia? Why did she continue to play such an importance in Elaine's adult life?

5. Why does Elaine take up with Cordelia again in high school? How would you describe her behaviour towards Cordelia at this point? Do you think she has reason to feel guilty about the last time she saw Cordelia? How do you think she feels about Cordelia at the end of the book?

6. Why do you think Elaine became an artist? What is the significance that she did so? Do artists use life experiences in ways that non artists do not?

7. When Elaine and her mother are going through the family belongings in the attic, Elaine finds her cat’s eye marble — ‘I look into it, and see my life entire’ (page 398). What does she mean by this? What is the significance of the cat’s eye?

See you tomorrow!

Viv

Book club date 7 August

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 :)

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

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

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 :)

Terra Nullius Review

Thanks for a lovely and noisy night last night.  I loved how everyone stayed around for a chat afterwards. A big welcome to our new members Emma and Viv

The book was mostly loathed, but those of us with good looks and taste loved it (Viv, Tahnee and I).


Kathy tendered her resignation which was summarily rejected.  It was decided that attendance and cake must be provided before the resignation could be accepted.   #contritioncake
Scores and comments:

Anne-Maree
A cultural fail.  #$#@!            3/10


Colleen
Flip was a flop                        2/10


Kay
Lost me at the flip                  2.5/10


Viv
Ambitious                               7/10


Emma
Mourned the first half             4/10


Mel                                         
WTF                                        2/10


Tahnee
Blurring the lines between dystopian fiction and uncomfortable truth
                                                7/10

Meaghan             
Unlikely iteration on romanticised history
                                               4/10

Trilby
The intent may not have been achieved but I enjoyed the story
                                              7/10

Tamara
Was Australia imagined or discovered.


Next months book is 'Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine' by Gail Honeyman, at Mel's house.




Thanks for a fab night

Trilby

Terra Nullius questions

Hi All,

I'm looking forward to seeing you all tonight.
Please feel free to bring your slippers!



Question 1 -
Did you understand the book to be speculative or science fiction - or not until it was made explicit?

Question 2
In the first third of the book did you find anything in the story unbelivable or to ring false?

Question 3
What purpose did the author have in confusing/allowing the reader to believe that the first third of the book was about English invasion into Aboriginal Australia?

Question 4
Do you feel a belonging to the land of an area or of a type of landscape?

Question 5
Did the book change your feelings on the current challenges Aboroginal people face?

Question 6
Discuss that the author felt it necessary to use speculative fiction in order to have the (assumed) non-aboriginal reader identify with the natives.

Question 7
The heat and lack of water are both salvation and death in the book.  Do you think this is paticularly Australian focus?


I think that will do for now - I am still madly trying to finish it before this evening.  See you then.

Trilby

Somebody I used to know by Wendy Mitchell

Hi All
sorry for the late posting.
I chose this book under pressure to provide holiday reading for Tahnee. It’s a relatively new release that I saw reviewed in the Saturday Age.

Scores and comments were

Tamara     8.5     face to science of memory loss
Mel.          7.       I forgot (pardon the pun)
Colleen.     4
Bec.           7
Kaye          7.      Harrowing tale of an insidious disease
Tahnee.       5.     Terrifying
Meaghan.    6.5.  Poignant & thought provoking
Anne-Maree 7.    Confrontingly real

Tomorrow nights book (Trilby’s choice) is Terra Nullius by Claire Coleman. Look forward to seeing you all then.

Anne-Maree

Terra Nullius

Hello Book Clubbers,

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at my house.

Address is 3/25 Seymour Street Seville.

My driveway has a number of letter boxes on the fence. My house is last on the RHS. Warch out for the hump in the drive. You can park on the concrete drive on the RHS (after the hedge) (in front of the caravan) if you wish or my driveway.

I will post questions tomorrow morning. I am slack, I know.

We will have two new members coming along to check us out tomorrow - Em and Viv.

Hope to see you there :)

Hi everyone,
hope you all had a good Easter. At our book club meeting last Tuesday a total of 6 of us turned up. Of the 6, I was the only one who had read and finished the book, everyone else either hadn't had a chance to read it or hadn't finished it yet. So the six of us took the executive decision to call the meeting off and just drink and eat. We had a lovely night just chatting and decided that at the next meeting we would discuss my book and Anne-Marie's. So next month's book is Somebody I Used to Know by Wendy Mitchell. Look forward to seeing you all at Anne-Marie's.
Kaye

Hi All,
Apologies for sending a whole new post to tell you I wont be at book club tonight...I cant for the life of me figure out how to post a comment on Kaye's original message.  I'm sorry I wont be there...I'm very behind on a presentation for work in the morning so going to keep working on it tonight.  Have a great night and Happy Easter everyone.
Georgia.

Tomorrow nights meeting

Hi all,
A reminder that book club is at colleens house tomorrow night. I hope you enjoyed the book and I will try and post some questions later today.
Kaye