Evening at Kathy's

We had a great discussion of the J K Rowling's latest novel "The Casual Vacancy"

Food was delicious and we enjoyed some chocolate wine for dessert.

Casual Vacancy- discussion questions

1. Before reading, did you have certain expectations for this book based on the Harry Potter series? If so, does The Casual Vacancy meet these expectations?

2. The book has more than 30 main characters. Did you have trouble keeping them and storylines in order?

3. Do you think the profanity, violence and sex is excessive and sensational? Is Rowling trying to prove that she can write for adults or does it enhance the plot?

4. Which storyline with which characters is your favorite and why? Least favorite?

5. Rowling describes the book as a "comic tragedy". What does that mean? Some have talked about the wit, others described the lack of it. Do you find her wit on display in the book?

6. Many reviewers and readers complain that the plot takes is slow to get off the ground and drags in some parts. What do you think? Is The Casual Vacancy too long at 500+ pages?

7. Before the success of Harry Potter, Rowling had experiences with poverty. Does knowing this increase the creditability of the Krystal character?

8. In many interviews, Rowling states that she felt she "had to write" this book and that it's very personal to her. Several characters and experiences can be paralled to her life. For example, Howard Mollinson and Simon Price are her estranged real-life father; Gavin is her first husband; Kay Bawden is a young, single J.K. Do you see any of your own relationships in the book? Does the story cause you to examine any of your relationships?

9. Is the ending satisfying? Does Rowling tie up loose ends or does she leave some things unanswered?

 

 

Catherine The Great - book review

Catherine The Great; Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie is a biography well worth reading. The book is well researched and full of historical information from Catherine’s childhood in Germany to her many years as a Russian monarch. Catherine was greatly influenced by many individuals in her life. As a young child, Catherine yearned to be accepted and loved by a harsh, distant mother.  Her father, although caring, had little say in Catherine’s upbringing.  This strong desire for acceptance lead Catherine to embrace all things Russian when she went to Russia to marry Peter, heir to the throne.  Her immersion in the Russian culture eventually enabled her to become loved by the Russian people. As monarch, she had numerous lovers throughout her life, a testament to her desire for love. Although Massey described Catherine as enlightened, there were differing opinions about this among the members of our book group. Catherine had strong interests in art and literature, and even desired to free the serfs; however, she was still a monarch who conquered neighboring nations in a quest to broaden her Russian empire.  Although she was a friend of Voltaire and shared many of his views, she was ultimately constrained by the desires of the Russian nobility to maintain the status quo.  While she may have done little to change the day-to-day life of the average Russian, she is still remembered as one of the greatest Russian monarchs.

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?