The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield

 

Characters
Vida’s Story Vida Winter George and Mathilde Angelfield – grandparents Isabelle – twin’s mother Charlie – Vida’s father Emmeline and Adeline – twins   Ambrose Parker – Aurelius’ father?   “Missus” – Mrs. Dunne   John-the-dig   Dr. and Mrs. Maudsley   Hester Borrow – governess	Margaret Lea – biographer Lea’s Antiquarian Booksellers Father Mother Moira – Margaret’s twin, died at birth
Aurelius Alphonse Love – Emmeline’s son Mrs. Love – raised Aurelius   Karen – takes care of deer on estate, Ambrose Parker’s daughter, Aurelius half-sister Two children   Mr.  Lomax – family lawyer   Judith – Vida’s housekeeper   Dr. Clifton – Vida’s current doctor

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       When did you start to suspect there were three girls living in the house?

2.       Who was the twin’s father?  See page 351: “Two girls with nothing of their mother’s husband about them.  Cooper hair – just like their uncle.  Green eyes – just like their uncle.”

3.       As a test, Vida told Margaret a story about a man burning all the existing copies of classic books and asked her if she would shoot the man at the controls to make him stop.  What was the point of this story and question?

4.       What did you think about the experiment by Hester and Dr. Maudsley of separating the twins? 

5.       Discuss Emmeline and Adeline.  Why do you think they developed such opposite personalities.  Hester and Dr. Maudsley’s theory was that the twins “divided the range of emotions and behaviors into two and taken one set each” (page 179).

6.       There were two main stories – Margaret’s narrative of the interviews and Vida’s story of her life – as well as two others, Mrs. Love’s and Hester’s diary.  Were you able to keep everything straight and understand when the narration changed?

7.       In the middle of their series of interviews, why did Vida change and start to tell her story in the first person, using the word “I” (page 205)?

8.       Why did Adeline try to kill Emmeline’s baby?  Do you think she meant to burn down the house and kill herself?

9.       There were many references to reading and books throughout the novel.  Did this add to your enjoyment?  Which one did you particularly relate to?

a.       “Do you know the feeling when you start reading a new book before the membrane of the last one has had time to close behind you?” (page 289)

b.       “And for me, what better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?” (page 41)

c.       Pacing yourself when you know the end of the book is approaching: “my thumb and right index finger were sending me a message: Not many pages left.   The knowledge nagged more insistently until I tilted the book to check.  It was true.” (page 27)

d.       “There is something about words.  In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner.” (page 8)

e.       “I read old novels.  The reason is simple: I prefer proper endings.” (page 29)

f.        When Margaret was ill, Dr. Clifton told her she was “suffering from an ailment that afflicts ladies of romantic imagination” (page 302) and prescribed “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes” (page 303). Do you think this would work?

10.   Vida said her books were popular “because they have a beginning, a middle and an end.  In the right order…it is having them in the right order that matters” (page 51).  Do you agree?  Have you read any books where this was not true and you still enjoyed them?

11.   Did this book have a satisfying beginning, middle, and end?

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

 

Characters

Root Life: Nora Seed Parents Joe – brother Ravi – The Labyrinth band with Joe Mrs. Elm – school librarian Dan – fiancé Neil – owner, String Theory Izzy – best friend Leo – piano lessons with Nora Mr. Banerjee - neighbor Voltaire - cat Ash – neighbor who found Voltaire alongside road   Book of Regrets: Quit swimming Didn’t take care of Voltaire Cancelled wedding with Dan Left band Backed out of trip to Australia with Izzy   Sample lives: Owned pub with Dan Back with Voltaire Australia Successful swimming career Artic researcher – met Hugo Lefevre, fellow “slider” Band with Ravi Working at dog shelter – Dylan, boyfriend Owned Buena Vista Vineyard – Husband Eduardo, son Alejandro Married to Ash – daughter, Molly

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       Did you like author’s writing style?  For example, Nora’s life at the pub was described as “a life where she put four exclamation marks in a row” (page 43) and the pub was described as “warm and characterful” (page 44).

2.       Did you like the references to different philosophers?

3.       At one point, Mrs. Elm, quoting Thoreau, said, “We only know what we perceive. Everything we experience is ultimately just our perception of it.  ‘It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see’” (page 219).  Can you think of an example of this from the book?

4.       Mrs. Elm told Nora multiple times to “Never underestimate the big importance of small things” (page 254).  What small things made a difference to Nora and to the other people in her life?

5.       Mrs. Elm also told Nora that “Even the bad experiences are serving a purpose, don’t you see?” (page 186).  What bad experiences did Nora have that helped her find her own life?  Have you had bad experiences that in the end led to successes?

6.       In the life where Nora was preforming with The Labyrinth, she was interviewed for an article.  In the interview, she made the observation, “we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people, and to other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad” (page 179).  Is this true?  Was Nora unrealistically looking for the perfect life? 

7.       Did the author present the other lives fairly?  For example, could Nora have been happy as a successful swimmer or musician or in the life where she was married to Ash?

8.       In which of the various sample lives do you think Nora would have been the happiest?

9.       Did the author do a good job of describing what it was like for Nora to suddenly find herself in an unknown life?  How do you think you would have handled the experience?

10.   Would you recommend this book to someone else?  Why or why not?

The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck

 

Characters

Wang Lung Father O-lan – wife, former slave Nung Em – older son Nung Wem – second son Daughter – does not speak, born during famine Twins – third son and daughter   House of Hwang Old Lord Wife – opium O-lan – slave there Cuckoo – slave   Uncle – younger brother of Wang Lung’s father Aunt Nephew   Ching – neighbor   Lotus – Wang Lung’s concubine Cuckoo – became her servant Pearl Blossom – Lotus’ maid, Wang Lung’s “love of old age”

 

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2005 Pocket Books edition.

1.       Without O-lan, the family would hardly have been able to survive.   Were there any other positive female characters in the novel? 

2.       While O-lan was extremely competent, she was unappreciated by Wang Lung.  For example, when the family left their home and went south, she constructed the hut and took charge of the begging to buy food.  She also worked alongside him in the field and did everything else in the house.  Why didn’t he appreciate her?

3.       O-lan was pregnant in the midst of the famine and the baby girl died upon birth.  Wang Lung saw “two dark, bruised spots” on the baby’s neck (page 87).   Do you think O-lan killed the baby?  Would she have done so if it was a boy?

4.       When Wang Lung wanted to return to their home in the north, O-lan kept telling him to wait because of what she had heard.   How did she know what was going to happen and Wang Lung did not?

 

5.       When the rich family on the other side of the wall from their hut fled and everyone was going into the house and stealing, Wang Lung did not because, “he had never in all his life taken what belonged to another” (page 145).  Why then was he willing to take the gold from the fat man he found lying in his bed in the house? 

6.       When the family returned to their home, they were able to farm their land and became rich.  How did this change Wang Lung? 

7.       When he was rich, he looked at O-lan he thought that “she was a woman whom no man could call other then she was, a dull and common creature, who plodded in silence without thought of how she appeared to others” (page 179).  Why was he unable to appreciate all she had done for him?

8.       What did you think about Wang Lung’s uncle and aunt?  His uncle seemed evil and content to live off of Wang Lung (page 203), but later Wang Lung discovered that the uncle had kept robbers away (page 246-7).  His aunt was the one who told O-lan about Lotus (page 204) and then offered to Wang Lung to negotiate her purchase. 

9.       What did you think of the various family members?  None of the sons seemed particularly ambitious or close to each other, the first two daughters-in-law hated each other, no one was willing to look after or care for the handicapped daughter. 

10.   What do you think happened to the family after the story ended?  Wang Lung told his sons, “It is the end of a family – when they begin to sell the land” (page 385).  The sons promised him they would keep the land, but “over the old man’s head they looked at each other and smiled” (page 385).

11.   At the time this novel was published, the Chinese had not been allowed to immigrate to the United States for 40 years.  How do you think this novel was received by Americans?  Do you think it helped people understand the Chinese culture?

12.   What relevance does this novel have today?

The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern

 

Characters	Sweet Sorrows – book 1
Zackary Ezra Rawlins – Emerging Media studies Madame Love Rawlins – mother, fortune teller   Katrina “Kat” Hawkins – invited Zachary to speak to student group   Female English major- knitter – attended Emerging Media discussion   Elena – library   J. S.  Keating – estate donated book to library   Dorian – met at library Collector’s Club   Mirabel “Max” – Simon’s daughter, granddaughter of J. S. Keating, paints doors   Allegra Cavallo – polar bear lady at party   Rhyme – acolyte, the only one who stayed (page 247)   The Kitchen   The Keeper   Innkeeper and wife	Pirate Acolyte Son of fortune teller Dollhouse Guardians Girl – opened door in ground, falls into starless sea Doors Keepers Man wondering
	Fortunes and Fables – book 2
	The Star Merchant The Keeper The Key Collector Girl – daughter of princess and blacksmith The Owl King Innkeeper – two guests, the moon and sun Sword Smith Story Sculptor
	The Ballad of Simon and Eleanor – book 3
	Eleanor – small girl with door knocker Simon Jonathan Keating Jocelyn Simone Keating – mother, deceased, unmarried Uncle and Aunt – raised Simon Baby - Mirabel
	Written in the Stars – book 4
	The Owl King – book 5
	The Secret Diary of Katrina Hawkins – book 6

 

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       What parts did Mirabel and the Keeper play in the novel?  In the end, did they control everything?

2.       What parts do the bees and the cat play in the story?

3.       The first three sections or books were actual books people read and shared.  Section 6 was Katrina’s handwritten diary.  Book 4 has excerpts of text written on paper stars.  Book 5 is all narrative.  Did you find the story hard to follow at times?

4.       Two “real” books mentioned in the novel are by Donna Tartt.  When asked, Dorian told the waitress The Secret History was good, she replied “I started the bird one but I couldn’t get into it” (page 267).  Why do you think the author mentioned those books?

5.       At the Emerging Media discussion, Zachary compares books and video games and states that “Proper text stories are preexisting narratives to fall into, games unfold as you go” (page 35).  Do you see a comparison between the two?

6.       Further into the discussion the topic turns to what makes a story compelling.  Some of the ideas mentioned were change, mystery, character growth, obstacles, romance, etc.   What makes a story compelling to you?  What topics generally draw you into a story?

7.       Furthering the discussion on stories, the group talked about the meaning of what you are reading and thought that it is “what you bring to it, even if you don’t make the choices along the way, you decide what it means to you” (pages 35 & 36).   Have you ever disagreed with a friend about what a book is about?  Or have you read a book at different times in your life and found different meanings?

8.       What did you think the themes were in this novel?

9.       What were some of your favorite parts of the book?  I particularly liked The Kitchen and wish I could have one!

10.   Reflect back on your reading experience with this novel.  If you read it over a longer period of time, were you able to follow the story line?  Did you continue to think about the book after you finished it?

11.   Would you open a door drawn on a wall?

The Bookwoman's Daughter, by Kim Michele Richardson

 

Characters
Honey Mary-Angeline Lovett Willie – dad Angeline – mother, bluet Cussy Carter Lovett – birth mother, bluet, pack horse librarian   Junia - mule   Loretta “Retta” Adams – legal guardian when parents arrested Alonza - nephew   Devil John – moonshine Martha Hannah – wife Carson – son   Bob Morgan – lawyer   Pearl Grant – fire-tower watcher   R. C.  – first fire-tower watcher, promoted Ruth – wife   Robbie Hardin – wanted watchtower job, vandalism   Perry Gillis – abusive, killed by rooster Guyla Belle – wife Johnie – son, fell down well   Sherriff Buckner – Perry Gillis’ relative   Bonnie Powell – female miner   Francis Moore – works in company store   Wrenna Abbott - age 10 Rooster Emma McCain – great-grandmother   Amara Ballard – frontier nurse   Doctor Millie - wife	Library and Patrons
	Eula Foster – library director Harriett Hardin – librarian Oren Taft – librarian   Honey’s book route:   Monday School – Principal Walker Emma McCain and Wrenna Mrs. Moore – Francis’ mother   Wednesday Mr. Cecil and Charlotte Martha Hannah Pearl Grant – watchtower   Thursday Tobacco Top community Bonnie Powell Doctor and Millie   Friday Bonnie Powell Pete and Franklin Duncan Amara Ballard Guyla Gillis – leave secret signal when safe to leave books

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.

1.       Did the author describe the emotions of the characters so that you were able to understand them?  Was fear the main emotion – Honey, Pearl, Guyla Belle?   Any other important feelings in the novel?

2.       What characters were your favorites?

3.       Discuss being different from the norm in society.  Is it possible that we are all different in one way or another?

4.       The doctor invited Honey to eat dinner and told her, “A man can’t be both smart and hungry at the same time.  Now is the time to be smart” (page 193).  How does this relate to the food crisis in many families?

5.       If you were Honey, would you take the medicine to make the blue disappear?  Her mother told her, “our color – any color – is not a poison and doesn’t need fixing” (page 193).

6.       The story was set in the 1950s.  Could you relate to the following:

a.       Avon make-up available then and now

b.       Piercing ears with a needle and potato

7.       Are there lessons to be learned from this book for today’s world?

8.       Did you enjoy reading the book?

9.       What were your favorite parts of the story?

10.   There were many quotes in the novel about books and reading.   Which ones were meaningful to you?  Some of them are:

a.       “You grow readers, expand minds, if you let them chooses, but you go banning a read, you stunt the whole community.” Mother to Honey, page 52.

b.       “books can soothe all matters of the heart” Oren Taft to Honey, page 133.

c.       “Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” Napoleon Bonaparte, front piece.

d.       Cussy to judge as a young boy: “Books are the cornerstone to greater minds” – page 307.

The Reading List, by Sara Nisha Adams

 

Characters
Aleisha – working at library Aiden – dropped out of school to care for mother Leilah – mother, ill Dean – father, new life and family   Zac Lowe – law student, guy on train   Mia – Aleisha’s friend   Mukesh Naina – wife, deceased Rohini, Deepali, Vritti – daughters Priya, Jaya and Jayesh – grandchildren   Nilakshi – Naina’s best friend, lost both husband and son in accident   Harish – Mukesh’s friend Meena – wife   Nasseem – neighbor Noor - daughter   Harrow Road Library Aleisha Dev “Thermos Flask Dev” – manager Kyle Benny Chris “Crime Thriller Guy” Lucy - volunteer	Found or given reading list
	Aleisha – found list in copy of To Kill a Mockingbird returned by “Crime Thriller Guy,” shared titles with Mukesh   Chris – found list on library table under a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird with a note Melanie – girlfriend, relationship ended   Indira Patel – found list in shoe space at the mandir   Lenora – found list on board at yoga studio Helena – sister   Izzy – found list on street, collects lists   Joseph – given list by library patron, bullied   Gigi – found list in supermarket

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       As you were reading, who do you think wrote the list?

2.       When Mukesh went to the charity walk, he carried a copy of Rebecca with him. He thought about how Naina “used to carry a book with her wherever she was, in case she got stuck in a lift on her own…” (page 126).  Did you relate to this idea?

3.       Izzy collected lists and made-up stories about the people who wrote them.  Do you make lists?  If someone found one of your lists, what would it tell them about you?

 

4.       Discuss Mukesh’s friendship and relationship with Nilakshi, Naina’s best friend.   Were you surprised at his daughters’ reactions?

5.       The novel dealt with many serious issues (grief, loneliness, caring for a sick parent, suicide, bullying) in addition to the positive power of reading.  Did you find the book sad or uplifting, or both?

6.       Could anything have been done to help Aidan?  Would adding him to the book list recipients have helped?

7.       How did the books on the list help the different people who found it?

8.       At least both Mukesh and Aleisha saw or imagined the characters from the various books during their regular days.   Has this ever happened to you?

9.       Is there a book that you have read several times during your life?  Did it mean different things to you at different ages?

10.   Which books have you read from the list?  Did you think they were powerful enough to be included on the list?  Are there any others you would recommend?

The Turn of the Key, by Ruth Ware

 

Characters
Rowan Caine/Rachel Gerhardt   Bill Elincourt – Rowan’s real father, affairs with previous nannies Sandra Elincourt Rhianna – 14, at boarding school Maddie – 8 Ellie – 5 Petra – 18 months   Jack Grant – driver   Jean McKenzie - housekeeper	Previous Nannies: #1 – Holly 3 years #2 – Lauren 8 months #3 – 1 week #4 – Maja – 1 night #5 – Katya – left note for next nanny, unfinished   Mr. Gates – court-appointed lawyer   Mr. Wrexham – barrister, letters addressed to him   Dr. Kenwick Grant – previous owner of house Elspeth – daughter, died in poison garden

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: The page numbers are from the 2019 paperback edition.

1.       As you were reading, what clues did you pick up that something wasn’t right? 

2.       Did the author leave any red herrings (false clues)?

3.       Was it realistic that the parents would leave the children with a new nanny the first day she started?  Did this bother you? 

4.       Were there other things in the novel that did not seem right or that you wished had been addressed?  For example, why would the parents leave the poison garden in tact?

5.       In an early letter to Mr. Wrexham, Rowan said that her “instinct is always to aim low, save myself some pain” (page 18).  How was this important to the story, if at all?

6.       Did you have any idea about the ending as you were reading?

7.       Were you surprised that Rowan/Rachel apparently did not give Ellie’s letter to the police in order to prove her innocence?

8.       Why did Maddie keep terrorizing the nannies so they would leave?  Why did she warn Rowan?

9.       What did you think of the ending?  Was the book a satisfying reading experience?

10.   Would you want to live in a house totally wired with cameras and electronics like the Elincourt house?  Were the cameras in the bedrooms a matter of safety or an invasion of privacy?

11.   What other scary or spooky books have you read?  Did you like this genre?

The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner

 

Characters
1791	Present Day
Nella Clavinger Frederick – husband, deceased   Mr. and Mrs. Amwell Eliza Fanning – taught to read and write Sally – cook Johana – servant, she and baby died   Father, mother and child (Beatrice) - Nella met on boat   Lady Clarence of Carter Lane Husband – poisoned Miss Berkwell – husband’s mistress, intended victim   Tom Pepper - Magic Bookshop	Caroline Parcewell James – husband   Rose Ainsley – Caroline’s friend   Alfred – Bachelor Alf – mudlarking   Gaynor – British Library Map Room

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2022 paperback edition.

1.       How difficult is it to keep a secret?   James kept his affair a secret for months but Caroline found it difficult to keep her secret about finding the hidden room to herself for even a few hours. 

2.       Caroline thought that her and James’ problem was that they “were happy, yet unfulfilled” (page 270).  What is the difference between being happy and being fulfilled? 

3.       What did you think about James ingesting the eucalyptus oil when he knew it was poison?  Do you think he knew it was as dangerous as it was?

4.       Caroline came to the conclusion that James drinking the oil was another way to shift all of the blame on to her, “your unhappiness, your mistress, now this illness” (page 287).  Do you think he will find happiness when he returns to America on his own?

5.       On page 295, as Nella thought about preparing her final poison, she thought that the last one “would finally grant me the peace I’d sought since my baby fell from my belly at the hand of Frederick.”  Did you understand prior to that page that Frederick had caused her to lose the baby?

6.       Should Eliza have felt guilty about giving Lady Clarence the bottle with the address on it?

 

7.       The original purpose of the apothecary shop started by Nella’s mother was to “heal and nurture women” (page 112).  Nella continued this tradition but took it to another level, helping women escape from their husbands by poisoning them.  Do you think her mother would have approved?

8.       Nella thought Eliza jumped from the bridge in her place, to “implicate herself as poisoner” (page 293).   Were you surprised Eliza took this risk?

9.       The potion that Eliza drank before jumping was a Tincture to Reverse Bad Fortune.   Was it the potion or something else that saved her?   Why didn’t she contact Nella after she survived?  On page 306 Nella thought she saw her in the window of the Clarence house.

10.   Did you like the organization of the book, with the two stories flipping back and forth?

11.   Are you tempted to go mudlarking on your next vacation?