Thursday, January 24, 2013

Gone Girl and A Reliable Wife









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REMINDER! REMINDER!

Book club will be meeting this Friday, January 25 at 8pm.  Please shoot me an email if you need the address or directions to Kath's house.  Elmwood Park can be a shady place to drive around if you don't know your way :)  Kidding Kath, Kidding!!   

When I come to book club on Friday night, I am going to make sure that I:

A) Bring wine.  This club is called Boozing with Books, after all. 
B) Read the books.  They haven't made these into movies yet, sadly :(
C) Bring my appetite.  These ladies can make a mean appetizer... or twenty.   
D) All of the above. 

ANSWER: D

GONE GIRL DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(Some questions courtesy of Litlovers.com)
  1. At the beginning of the book, did you find Amy and/or Nick Dunne sympathetic? At what point do your sympathies begin to change (if they do?)
  2. Nick insists from the beginning he had nothing to do with Amy's disappearance. Did you believe him, initially?
  3. How would you describe the couple's marriage?  Were there any redeeming moments?  Was there anything that stood out as highly dysfunctional?
  4. Amy and Nick lie. When did you begin to suspect that the two were lying to one another...and to you, the reader? Why do they lie...what do they gain by it?
  5. Do you find the Gillian Flynn's technique of alternating first-person narrations compelling...or irritating. What does the author gain by using two different voices?
  6. A skillful mystery writer knows which details to reveal and when to reveal them. Were there any clues that you picked up through out the course of the book that you found interesting?
  7. What role did the "Amazing Amy" books play in the novel?
  8. Did you suspect Nick's big secret? Did you suspect that Amy was behind the disappearance?  Which twist in the novel shocked you the most?
  9. Do you think anyone is to blame for... The unraveling of the Dunnes marriage? Amy's behavior?  The way the public/media treated Nick?  If so, who?
  10. Movie time: who would you like to see play what part?
A RELIABLE WIFE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. The novel’s setting and strong sense of place seem to echo its mood and themes. What role does the wintry Wisconsin landscape play? And the very different, opulent setting of St. Louis?
  2. Ralph and Catherine’s story frequently pauses to give brief, often horrific glimpses into the lives of others. Ralph remarks on the violence that surrounds them in Wisconsin, saying, “They hate their lives. They start to hate each other. They lose their minds, wanting things they can’t have” (page 205). How do these vignettes of madness and violence contribute to the novel’s themes?
  3. Catherine imagines herself as an actress playing a series of roles, the one of Ralph’s wife being the starring role of a lifetime. Where in the novel might you see a glimpse of the real Catherine Land? Do you feel that you ever get to know this woman, or is she always hidden behind a facade?
  4. The encounter between Catherine and her sister, Alice, is one of the pivotal moments of the novel. How do you view these two women after reading the story of their origins? Why do the two sisters wind up on such different paths? Why does Catherine ultimately lose hope in Alice’s redemption?
  5. The idea of escape runs throughout the novel. Ralph thinks, “Some things you escape.... You don’t escape the things, mostly bad, that just happen to you” (pages 5–6). What circumstances trap characters permanently? How do characters attempt to escape their circumstances? When, if ever, do they succeed? How does the bird imagery that runs through the book relate to the idea of imprisonment and escape?
  6. “You can live with hopelessness for only so long before you are, in fact, hopeless,” reflects Ralph (page 8). Which characters here are truly hopeless? Alice? Antonio? Ralph himself? Do you see any glimmers of hope in the story?
  7. Why, in your opinion, does Ralph allow himself to be gradually poisoned, even after he’s aware of what’s happening to him? What does this decision say about his character?
  8. Why does Catherine become obsessed with nurturing and reviving the “secret garden” of Ralph’s mansion? What insights does this preoccupation reveal about Catherine’s character?
  9. Does Catherine live up in any way to the advertisement Ralph places in the newspaper (page 20)? Why or why not?
  10.  Did you have sympathy for any of the characters? Did this change as time went on?
  11. At the onset of A Reliable Wife the characters are not good people. They have done bad things and have lived thoughtlessly. In the end how do they find hope?
OTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
  1. Both Catherine (at the beginning of the novel) and Amy describe themselves as cunning and marvel at their ability to carry out a "plan."  Do you find other similarities between these characters?  What do think the authors are trying to say about "cunning" women?
  2. What do these books say about the institution of marriage and love?  Is their message similar?
  3. Both book deal with a great amount of deceit, which begs the question, can you ever truly, know another person? 

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