Book Discussion: Station Eleven

Discussion Questions:

What is the metaphor of the Station Eleven comic books? How does the Undersea connect to the events of the novel?

Who was your favorite character and why? Did you have a least favorite character other than the prophet?

Why are some characters referred to by their name, and other's just by the instrument they play. For example: the clarinet

The author weaves so many story lines together and connects them all in the end. What were some storylines or little details you enjoyed seeing her link together?

In the case of the story, is it better to have known a way of life and to lose it or to have never known it at all?

 On page 278 Clark recalls with Garrett a time before the flu when they would abbreviate in emails and use idioms like "shoot off an email" and how silly it all seems now. Can you think of something you or society used to do 20 years ago that seems silly now?

Arthur Leander dies while performing King Lear, and the Traveling Symphony performs Shakespeare’s works. On page 57, Mandel writes, "Shakespeare was the third born to his parents, but the first to survive infancy. Four of his siblings died young. His son, Hamnet, died at eleven and left behind a twin. Plague closed the theaters again and again, death flickering over the landscape." How do Shakespearean motifs coincide with those of Station Eleven, both the novel and the comic?

 Certain items turn up again and again, for instance the comic books and the paperweight—things Arthur gave away before he died, because he didn’t want any more possessions. And Clark’s Museum of Civilization turns what we think of as mundane belongings into totems worthy of study. What point is the author making?

 Throughout the novel, those who were alive during the time before the flu remember specific things about those days: the ease of electricity, the taste of an orange. In their place, what do you think you’d remember most?

Jeevan stands out as a central character who ends up disconnected from the overall narrative. Why do you think Mandel chose to devote so much space to him?

The prophet seems to have great control in the novel. Could you see yourself following someone like him in similar circumstances.

Did you have any ideas about why symphony members, and then the entire symphony itself, disappeared from the road?

Book Discussion: The Sense of an Ending

Questions:

What are your thoughts on the book? Did you enjoy it?

Do you think it would have worked better as a full length novel rather than a novella?

How does the book depict youth?

• This was another of our fears: that Life wouldn’t turn out to be like Literature.  Look at our parents—were they the stuff of Literature?  At best, they might aspire to the condition of onlookers and bystanders, part of the social backdrop against which real, true, important things could happen.  Like what? The things Literature was all about: love, sex, morality, friendship, happiness, suffering, betrayal, adultery, good and evil, heroes and villains, guilt and innocence, ambition, power, justice, revolution, war, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, the individual against society, success and failure, murder, suicide, death, God.  (p. 16)

The concept of memory comes up often in the book. How reliable is ones memory? What might influence your memories of the past?

• The less time there remains in your life, the less you want to waste it.  That’s logical, isn’t it?  Though how you use the saved-up hours . . . well, that’s another thing you probably wouldn’t have predicted in youth.  For instance, I spend a lot of time clearing things up—and I’m not even a messy person.  But it’s one of the modest satisfactions of age.  I aim for tidiness; I recycle; I clean and decorate my flat to keep up its value.  I’ve made my will; and my dealings with my daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren and ex-wife are, if less than perfect, at least settled.  Or so I’ve persuaded myself.  I’ve achieved a state of peaceableness, even peacefulness.  Because I get on with things.  I don’t like mess, and I don’t like leaving a mess.  I’ve opted for cremation, if you want to know.  (p. 75)

Veronica accuses Tony of being cowardly, while Tony considers himself peaceable. Whose assessment is more accurate?

How did you interpret Veronica's actions when they meet again as older adults?

Why does Mrs. Ford make her bequest to Tony, after so many years?

Do you think it was fair of Veronica to show Tony that letter he wrote almost 40 years ago. Do the actions of our youth hold merit forever?

Why did Adrian commit suicide? 

What is the significance of the title?

Book Discussion Questions:

What did you think of the book?

Was this your first experience reading a graphic novel?

Have you had a similar discussion with your parents and/or children about aging
and long-term care plans? What was the result? At what age do you think parents
and children should have this conversation?

Did you enjoy Chast’s technique of telling her story through illustrations? Why or why not? Were there scenes in the book that you thought were more or less effective because they were depicted in cartoons rather than in straightforward
text? Which ones, and why?

Which parts of the memoir made you laugh? Which made you cry? Did Chast’s use
of humor surprise you? Do you think it’s necessary or inappropriate to approach
this type of subject with humor?

Have you considered your own end-of-life plans? Why or why not? Was the book
informational for you, and if so, what did you learn? Has reading this book changed
your thinking about your own end-of-life care?

What is the greatest loss that George and Elizabeth experience
as they age?

Were there scenes in the book that you found exasperating?

Book Discussion: Lila

Lila by Marilynne Robinson- Abandoning her homeless existence to become a minister's wife, Lila reflects on her hardscrabble life on the run with a canny young drifter and her efforts to reconcile her painful past with her husband's gentle Christian worldview.

Reverend Ames is 70 at the time of his son's birth (explained in the book Gilead)

http://images.macmillan.com/folio-assets/rgg-guides/9780374187613RGG.pdf

Questions:

What were your impressions of the book?


How did your perception of Doll shift throughout the novel? Why did she rescue Lila?

 As she copies difficult passages from the Bible, Lila continually returns to questions about human suffering and misfortune. What is your response to this debate? How does Lila’s practical wisdom compare to the philosophical wisdom of Ames and Boughton?

What lies at the heart of Lila and Ames’s decision to marry? What needs and longings do they share?

What is the significance of Doll’s knife—both literally (as a weapon) and as a metaphor?

 Which of the novel’s Bible quotations resonated most strongly with you? How were you taught to approach a sacred text?

Does the age difference between Lila and Ames create an imbalance in their marriage?

What beliefs does Doll instill in Lila about nurturing a child?

What were Lilas barriers to trust?
How do you build trust with another person, is it as simple as sharing all that you know-especially our most vulnerable moments?

What did you think of the ending?

Staff Picks

Book Discussion: The Dinner by Herman Koch

Over the course of a meal at a fashionable Amsterdam restaurant, two couples move from small talk during the appetizer to weightier issues. While discussing their sons -- who have done something terrible -- we learn more about what ties the families together, and what seems to be a skewering of upper-class values turns into something far more serious. -- Description by Shauna Griffin, taken from Novelist

Discussion Questions:

The author has set the novel over a meal in a classy restaurant. What do you think he is trying to
illustrate by this choice?

The novel opens with Paul’s commentary on how much Serge irritates him. What accounts for their attitude toward each other? Does Paul’s animosity run deeper than typical sibling rivalry?

In the beginning of the novel Paul talks about his idea of happiness and quotes from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. What do you think he means when he says that ‘unhappiness can’t stand silence-especially not the uneasy silence that settles in when it is all alone’? -PAGE 6, top 1/2 of page

How does Paul's narration of the story influence the reader's perspective?

Did your feelings about certain characters change as the novel progressed?

How and to what extent do you think Michel is influenced by his father’s rage?

Do you think people can be born with a propensity for violence and evil, or are they more likely to be 
shaped by early life, family and circumstances?

Do Michel and Rick represent the indifference of their generation, or are teenagers more socially conscious in the Information Age?

Ultimately, who is to blame for the homeless woman’s death? What does the novel indicate about the responsibilities (or irresponsibility) of the upper class?

In what way do the courses of a meal— from aperitif to digestif— echo the experience of savoring a suspenseful novel? As the waiter described each delicacy in The Dinner, did the food appeal to you, or did you share Paul’s belief that it was pretentious?

Serge Lohman is willing to sacrifice his entire political career in light of the crime that his son has committed. What do you think his real motive is? Why does his wife so vehemently oppose his decision?

What commentary does the novel offer about the author’s homeland? What aspects of The Dinner would change if it were set in Washington, DC, rather than in the Netherlands?

Fun Facts:

The Dutch adaptation of the film came out in 2013. There is discussion of Cate Blancett making her directorial debut with the American version.

Book Discussion: This is How You Lose Her

Presents a collection of stories that explores the heartbreak and radiance of love as it is shaped by passion, betrayal, and the echoes of intimacy.

Honors:
National Book Award Nominee for Fiction (2012), OCM Bocas Prize Nominee (2013), The Story Prize Nominee (2012), Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Excellence in Fiction (2013), ALA Notable Book for Fiction (2013)

Press:
NYTimes
NPR Interview
Dictionary of Dominican Slang

Questions:

What was your overall impression of the book. Which story did you like best?

Some have described Diaz's language as "Spanglish." But he also uses a healthy dose of idioms from other parts of culture, from hip-hop to academia. What other cultural lingo does Diaz draw from, and what is the effect of his "multilingualism"? Does it make for greater realism...or humor...or what? Does it cause difficulties for you, the reader? 

Have you read another book that had different languages or slang heavily integrated into the writing?

What did you think of the short story layout of the book, was it a good storytelling tool?

One of the quotes from the book is “And that's when I know it's over. As soon as you start thinking about the beginning, it's the end.” Have you ever found that to be true in a relationship?

Yunior says of himself, "I’m not a bad guy.... I’m like everybody else: weak, full of mistakes, but basically good." Do you agree with his self-assessment...or is he letting himself off the hook too easily? Isn't his description applicable to anyone?

Diaz has expressed that he was encouraged growing up to not view women as fully human and slightly inferior to men. Much seems to be made of his male Dominican values as they relate to women. But realistically, are these values much different from those expressed from average American males? 

Diaz writes in the book "the half-life of love is forever." Do you think this is true for you? If you have been in love, does that love ever completely go away (even after the relationship has ended?)

A  pattern of infidelity runs throughout the stories. Why is Yunior compulsively unfaithful to women?  Would you consider Yunior an addict with regard to his relationships (or lack thereof) with women? For example, he exhibits cyclical behaviors that cause him pain yet he never talks about/ deals with why he does what he does.

Talk about the family's reaction to their new home in the U.S. What would it be like to find yourself in a totally new culture faced with an different language?

Talk about the final story of this book, "The Cheater's Guide to Love." What is Yunior coming to realize? In what way has he changed or matured?

 What did you think of the ending? was it appropriate considering the subject matter or did you find it ant-climactic?