Our book club meeting on 4/23/2013

Catherine the Great -discussion questions

Discussion Questions for Catherine the Great; Portrait of a Woman

1.      How did Sophia’s/Catherine’s relationship with her mother affect her?

2.     Why do you think Sophia/Catherine embraced all things Russian when she came to court?

3.      Would Catherine’s life have been different if her husband, Peter, had not contracted small pox?

4.     Were you surprised by the Russian court’s blasé attitude toward Catherine’s relationship and pregnancy with Saltykov?

5.     Do you think Catherine was aware of the services the Orlov brothers could give her when she became involved with Gregory Orlov?

6.     Catherine considered herself Enlightened, and was a follower of Voltaire.  Was she successful in any of her attempts to change Russia?

7.     Why was she drawn to Gregory Potemkin?  How did he influence her?  Do you think they really married?

8.     Catherine had three children.   What affect did any of them have on her life?

9.     Based on this book, what is your opinion of Catherine?  Do you like or respect her?   Why, or why not?

10.                         Catherine often said she could not live one day without love.  Did these need for love affect how she ruled Russia?  Did it affect how she was perceived by leaders in Europe?

11.                        Catherine wrote an epitaph for herself, shown on page 573.  Do you believe it Is accurate?

12.                        Does Catherine remind you of any other female monarchs, past or present?

13.                        Would you recommend this book to a friend?

THE LIFEBOAT, by Charlotte Rogan

THE LIFEBOAT, by Charlotte Rogan

A Review

Grace Winter, age 22, is a survivor.  She is a survivor of a shipwreck and is on trial for murder.  While in prison awaiting trial she writes an account of the events leading to her arrest.  In the summer of 1914, she and her husband Henry, newlyweds, were crossing the Atlantic on an elegant ocean liner which sank after a mysterious explosion. Henry secured Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the occupants soon realize far exceeds its weight capacity. For any in the boat to live, some must die.  In the first days adrift in the ocean, a number of the men willingly sacrifice themselves for the good of the others.  But tensions among the survivors grow as day after day, rations become scarcer and conditions become more desperate.   One man is thrown overboard.  Once rescued, Grace and two other women are accused of his murder.

The story is told through Grace’s eyes.  Grace describes the way the survivors battle the elements, thirst, hunger and each other. Grace also recalls her past; her father’s financial ruin and suicide, the way she and Henry met and married, and the new life of privilege she thought she'd found with him.  She is a complex character, by turns demure, conniving, astute and manipulative; but always pragmatic. 

THE LIFEBOAT is a well-written, intense page-turner.  It is a fast read and on the surface is a story about a group of people surviving a shipwreck, struggling in a lifeboat adrift in the ocean for fourteen days.  The book can be read on many levels however, and on slower contemplation is a complex study of human interactions, self-deception, survival strategies, power struggles and alliances, hard choices and moral dilemmas.

Members of our book club did not rate The Lifeboat, but all enjoyed it and we had a lively discussion. 

Discussion Questions: The Life Boat

1.  In disaster situations, is it right to save women and children first? What moral justifications exist for your answer?

 2. Discuss the thought experiment referred to in Grace’s trial, also known as “The Plank of Carneades.” Is either the first or second swimmer to reach the plank justified in pushing the other swimmer away?

 3. What do you think of the concept of necessity as a justification for behavior that would not be condoned in ordinary circumstances?

 4. If you were to ask Grace what qualities she looks for in a friend, what would she say? What would the truth be?

 5. Which characters, in your opinion, hold the moral high ground?

 6. Seventeenth-century political philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke postulated that humankind started off in a state of nature and gradually gave up certain freedoms in return for security, an exchange sometimes called the social contract. How does the lifeboat approximate a state of nature? Does survival in such a state require giving up personal freedom and autonomy?

7. Some modern writers assert that the advances in opportunities for women have been predicated on the requirement that women become more like men. Do you agree with this?

 8. Are people more likely to revert to traditional male/female roles in crisis situations? What traditional male/female traits might help a person survive?

 9. Author Warren Farrell, who writes about gender issues, said: “Men’s weakness is their façade of strength; women’s strength is their façade of weakness.”  Does this hold true for the characters in The Lifeboat?

 10. In his book In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, Nathaniel Philbrick argues that an “authoritarian” leadership style is useful in the early stages of a disaster, but a “social” style becomes more important over time. Does this dynamic fully explain the power struggle in Lifeboat 14 or were other forces at work?

 11. Does power always involve the threat of coercion?  Besides violence, what forms of power influence the characters in The Lifeboat?

 12. The first thing a person says is often more honest than later explanations. Are there instances in the book where a character’s early words are a clue to assessing the truth of a particular situation or incident?

 13. Do you think Mr. Hardie stole or helped to steal anything from the sinking Empress Alexandra? Would this have been wrong, given that any valuables were destined to be lost forever?

 14. Should Grace have been acquitted of Mr. Hardie’s murder?

 15. Comment on the use of storytelling in the novel. Does your answer shed any light on Grace’s own story?

Book Club meeting on January 23, 2013

We discussed "Fundraising the Dead" while munching on delicious dishes.

Fundraising the Dead (A Museum Mystery)- discussion questions

Fundraising the Dead (A Museum Mystery)

1.       Did you enjoy the book? Why? Why not?

2.       How did the book compare to other books by other books in the same genre?

3.       What about the plot? Did it pull you in; or did you feel you had to force yourself to read the book?

4.       How realistic was the romance between Nell and Charles?

5.       Do you like  Eleanor “Nell” Pratt Why? Why not?

6.       How real is Martha Terwilliger aka Marty and her relatives (Alfred Findley, FBI agent James,  computer wizard)?

7.       How does the setting figure into the book? Does it come to life?

8.       What are some of the book's themes? How important were they?

9.       Did the book end the way you expected?

10.   Would you recommend this book to other readers?

11.   One opinion of this book is: “Great read for public transportation,” – do you agree?

 

Dorota

The Pillars of the Earth -- Discussion Questions

In General
1.       What did everyone think?  Rate it on a scale of 1-10.2.       Did you like the book?  If so, why?  3.       If you didn't like the book, what were your reasons? 
The Characters1.       Were you able to identify with any of the characters? 
2.       What stood out about each character?  Aliena, Jack, Tom Builder, Prior Phillip, Ellen, Alfred, Richard, Waleran Bigod, William Hamleigh?
3.      Any other characters you’d like to discuss?

In Depth Discussion Questions:

·         Ken Follett has said: “When I started to look at cathedrals, I wondered: Who built them, and why?
The book is my answer to that question.”  Why do you think the great medieval cathedrals were built?
Some things to think about:
How does the building of the cathedral satisfy the ambitions of the main characters – Tom Builder, Prior Philip, Aliena and Jack? How does it affect the lives of other important characters in the story?

·         Although 'The Pillars of the Earth' is fiction, it includes some real-life characters and incidents from history, such as King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, and the murder of Thomas Becket. Why does the author mix fact and fiction like this?
Some things to think about:
Are the factual scenes told from the point of view of the real-life characters, or the fictional ones? Are the fictional characters major or minor players in the big historical events of the time?
 

·         Women were second-class citizens in medieval society and the church. Is this accurately reflected in 'The Pillars of the Earth'?
Some things to think about:
What attitudes to women are shown by Prior Philip and William Hamleigh? How do Agnes, Ellen and Aliena respond to society’s expectations?
 

·         Some readers have said that they look at medieval churches with new eyes after reading 'The Pillars of the Earth'. Do you think you will do the same?
Some things to think about:
In the book, churches are usually viewed through the eyes of a builder. How does this affect your understanding of the architecture?
 

·         Ken Follett has said: “I’m not a very spiritual person. I’m more interested in the material problems of building a cathedral.” Is 'The Pillars of the Earth' a spiritual book?
Some things to think about:
What motivates Prior Philip? What does Tom say at the beginning of Chapter 5, when Philip asks him why he wants to be master builder? In Chapter 16, why does Philip ask Remigius to come back to the priory?