About the Book

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch--"Scout"--returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt. Featuring many of the iconic characters from To Kill a Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in a painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past--a journey that can be guided only by one's conscience. 

Questions

1. Why publish Go Set a Watchman now?
2. What issues addressed in Go Set a Watchman are still relevant today?
3. Maycomb is a town without train service, and its bus service “was erratic and seemed to go nowhere.” How does this lack of connection isolate the citizens of Maycomb? How does that isolation affect how they see themselves and outsiders? 
4. Has living in a place like New York impacted Jean Louise? What does she think about New York and life there? 
5. Describe the relationship between Jean Louise and Atticus at the beginning of the novel. Does Jean Louise idealize her father too much? How does she react when she discovers that her father is a flawed human being? 
6. What was your reaction to some of the opinions Atticus voiced in Watchman? Do they make him a more realistic --- if less heroic --- character than that portrayed in Mockingbird? Is Atticus racist? 
7.  “Integrity, humor, and patience were the three words for Atticus Finch.” After your reading of Watchman, do these three words still hold true? What words would you use to describe him?
8. What kind of reception does Jean Louise receive in the Quarters when she visits Calpurnia, the Finches’ retired housekeeper? 
9. How does Calpurnia react to seeing Jean Louise, and what is Calpurnia’s response when Jean Louise asks her how she truly felt about her family? 
10. Late in the novel, Uncle Jack tells his niece, “Every man’s island, Jean Louise, every man’s watchman, is his conscience.” What wisdom is he imparting to her? 
11. Where do you see Jean Louise at the end of the book? Will she return to New York or stay in Maycomb? Will she champion Civil Rights? Do you see her becoming a feminist in the 1960s?
12. How would you characterize Harper Lee's style? Does her voice sound the same as it does in To Kill a Mockingbird? If you think the books sound different, what accounts for the changes?

Reviews

The Guardian 
The New Yorker
The New York Times

About the Book

After twenty years spent mastering the art of dressmaking at couture houses in Paris, Tilly Dunnage returns to the small Australian town she was banished from as a child. She plans only to check on her ailing mother and leave. But Tilly decides to stay, and though she is still an outcast, her lush, exquisite dresses prove irresistible to the prim women of Dungatar. 

Through her fashion business, her friendship with Sergeant Farrat—the town’s only policeman, who harbors an unusual passion for fabrics—and a budding romance with Teddy, the local football star whose family is almost as reviled as hers, she finds a measure of grudging acceptance. But as her dresses begin to arouse competition and envy in town, causing old resentments to surface, it becomes clear that Tilly’s mind is set on a darker design: exacting revenge on those who wronged her, in the most spectacular fashion.

Questions

1. Gossip can ruin a persons life if they let it. Which character dealt with gossip the best way? The worst? Give examples from the book. 
2. Who caused Teddy's death? Tilly? The townspeople? Why?
3. The relationship between Nancy and Ruth is completely ignored throughout the book. What is acceptable? What do people have to be and do to be considered “one of us”?
4. There are many secrets that are kept throughout the book including the identity of Tilly’s father and Ruth and Nancy’s relationship. What is the best kept secret and the worst? 
5. Manipulation is an important theme in the book. Give two examples of how a character (or characters) manipulate a situation and others?
6. There are many examples of cruelty throughout the book. Which character do you think is the most cruel? Why? 
7. The people of Dungatar watch up to the women on the Hill and in turn the women on the Hill look down on the town. Why is this important? What if the situation was reveresed?
8. Many of the characters lack compassion. Give an example from the book of an individual lacking compassion which was particular shocking or cruel. Give reasons why the individual acted this way?
9. Discuss the ongoing feud between Septimus and Hamish and the fact that Septimus never mentions Hamish’s wife’s affair with the local butcher. How does Septimus ensure the affair stays a secret? 

Character List

1. Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage : Protagonist of the novel; after leaving Dungatar, she worked in the fashion industry throughout Europe and on her return becomes the new popular dressmaker of the town.
2. Molly Dunnage : Tilly's mother; she is mentally unstable and also called Mad Molly by town's people.
3. Ted McSwiney : Love interest of Tilly and star footballer of the town.
4. Sergeant Horatio Farrat : Town's only police officer and a secret cross-dresser.
5. Gertrude "Trudy" Pratt : A nice young girl who after her marriage became part of circle of nasty women of town and started controlling and manipulating her husband.
6. William Beaumont : Husband of Trudy and son of Elsbeth; in an attempt of rebellion towards his controlling mother, he married Trudy and later realised that he does not love her.
7. Elsbeth Beaumont : A controlling and snobbish old woman, who lives outside of Dungatar at the farm.
8. Mona Beaumont : Second child of Elsbeth and sister of William.
9. Lesley Muncan : Initially a visitor to town but, due to a misunderstanding, reluctantly married Mona Beaumont.
10. Evan Pettyman : Councillor of the town and a father of Tilly from his secret affair with Molly; he is later murdered by his wife when she finds out about the affair.
11. Marigold Pettyman : Wife of Evan; she has cleaning OCD and is depressed over the death of her only son; after murdering her husband for his affair with mad Molly, she kills herself by drinking sleeping tonic.
12. Stewart Pettyman : Son of Evan and Marigold; he died when he was a kid in a tragic accident.
13. Muriel Pratt : Mother of Trudy and wife of Alvin; she owns a store in town with her husband and is part of snobby women of town.
14. Alvin Pratt : Father of Trudy and husband of Muriel; owns a grocery store in town with his wife.
15. Percival Almanac : An orthodox, controlling and violent man, who looks down on others; he owns herbal medicines store in town.
16. Irma Almanac : Wife of Percival; she is suffering from some disease but her husband, with his controlling temper, does not let her get proper medication as he believes in herbal medicines.
17. Edward McSwiney : Father of Teddy and town's handyman; he and his family are considered outcasts and live at the edge of town.
18. Mae McSwiney : Wife of Edward and mother of eleven children including Teddy and Barney; she often checks on Molly in the absence of Tilly fom the town.
19. Barney McSwiney : Brother of Teddy; has some kind of disability.
20. Faith O’Brien : Lead singer of town's local band; married to Hamish O’Brien but having an affair with Reginald Blood, which she does not hide at all but still her husband is unaware of it.
21. Hamish O’Brien : Husband of Faith; he is in the local band and also works as a conductor for the trains coming in and out of Dungatar.
22. Reginald Blood : Town's local butcher; he is having an affair with married Faith O'Brien and keeps the townspeople silent about his affair by bribing them.
23. Prudence Dimm : Tilly's former school teacher; teaches at school in Dungatar.
24. Ruth Dimm : Works at post office and is in secret relationship with Nancy Pickett.
25. Nancy Pickett : A strong woman; she is in a secret relationship with Ruth.
26. Bobby Pickett : Brother of Nancy; he is gentle and slow because of which he was picked on by other students in school.
27. Lois Pickett : Mother of Nancy and Bobby; famous for her picking her own scabs and blackheads.
28. Purl Bundle : She works at the town's local hotel and is described as very beautiful.
29. Fred Bundle : Husband of Purl.
30. Septimus Crescent : One of the townsmen; he always has pub spats with Hamish O’Brien and despite knowing that Hamish's wife is having an affair with Reginald Blood, he never reveals that to him.
31. Beula Harridene : Town's malicious snoop.
32. Una Pleasance : Tilly's rival dressmaker; hired by the townswomen.

Movie Trailer

About the Book

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good? 

Questions

1. How did you like the narrative structure of the book?  Do you feel like the structure helped build suspense?
2. How would you have reacted if you’d seen what Rachel did from her train window—a pile of clothes—just before the rumored disappearance of Megan Hipwell? 
3. In both Rachel Watson’s and Megan Hipwell’s marriages, deep secrets are kept from the husbands. Are these marriages unusual or even extreme in this way? Consider how many relationships rely on half-truths? Is it ever necessary or justifiable to lie to someone you love? 
4. What about the lies the characters tell to themselves? In what ways is Rachel lying to herself? Do all people tell themselves lies to some degree in order to move on with their lives? 
5. A crucial question in The Girl on the Train is how much Rachel Watson can trust her own memory. How reliable are her observations? Yet since the relationship between truth and memory is often a slippery one, how objective or “true” can a memory, by definition, really be? Can memory lie? Consider examples from the book.
6. Think about trust in The Girl on the Train. Who trusts whom? Is Rachel Watson a very trustworthy person? Why or why not? Who appears trustworthy and is actually not? 
7. Other characters in the novel make different assumptions about Rachel Watson depending on how or even where they see her. To a certain extent, she understands this and often tries to manipulate their assumptions—by appearing to be a commuter, for instance, going to work every day. Is she successful? How did your assumptions about her affect your reading of the central mystery in the book? Did your assumptions about her change over its course? 
8. Why do you think the book captivated so many people and drew the reader in? 
9. Did you see the end coming?
10. What did you like most about the book? Least?

Bonus Question: Who do you think should play these characters in the upcoming film adaptation?

About The Book

Sometimes, when you open the door to the past, what you confront is your destiny.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchanting stories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret for so long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her own painful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret is mesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness — featuring the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess,a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Questions

1. Books play an important role in The Thirteenth Tale. Discuss Margaret and Miss Winter's relationships to books and stories. Could you relate with them? 
2. Do you agree with Miss Winter that stories can reveal truth better than simply stating it?
3. The two houses in The Thirteenth Tale--Angelfield and Miss Winter's estate--are prominent in the story. How do the houses reflect the characters who live in them? What do you think they represent?
4. Why do you think Margaret obeyed Miss Winter's summons?
5. Why do you think Margaret's sister's death affected her so profoundly? Why do you think she was able to move beyond it at the end of the novel?
6. When did you first suspect Miss Winter's true identity? Were you surprised? Looking back, what clues did she give you?
7. Do you think Adeline or Emmeline was saved from the fire?
8. Do you think it is harder to keep a secret or confess the complete truth?
9. Were you satisfied with the way the story ended for various characters--Aurelius, Hester, Margaret?

Book Trailer

About the Book

From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, the beautiful, stunningly ambitious instant New York Times bestseller about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.

Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. 

Questions

1. The book opens with two epigraphs. How do these quotes set the scene for the rest of the book? Discuss how the radio plays a major part in the story and the time period. How do you think the impact of the radio back then compares with the impact of the Internet on today’s society? 
2. The narration moves back and forth both in time and between different characters. How did this affect your reading experience? How do you think the experience would have been different if the story had been told entirely in chronological order? 
3. Whose story did you enjoy the most? Was there any character you wanted more insight into? 
4. When Werner and Jutta first hear the Frenchman on the radio, he concludes his broadcast by saying “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever” (pages 48–49), and Werner recalls these words throughout the book (pages 86, 264, and 409). How do you think this phrase relates to the overall message of the story? How does it relate to Madame Manec’s question: “Don’t you want to be alive before you die?” (page 270)? 
5. One of Werner’s bravest moments is when he confronts von Rumpel: “All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, and are you ready?” (page 465) Have you ever had a moment like that? Were you ready? What would you say that moment is for some of the other characters? 
6. Why do you think Marie-Laure gave Werner the little iron key? Why might Werner have gone back for the wooden house but left the Sea of Flames? 
7. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once wrote that “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” All the Light We Cannot See is filled with examples of human nature at its best and worst. Discuss the themes of good versus evil throughout the story. How do they drive each other? What do you think are the ultimate lessons that these characters and the resolution of their stories teach us? 

Museum of Natural History (Paris)

In the Authors Words

About the Book

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson is about a reluctant centenarian much like Forrest Gump (if Gump were an explosives expert with a fondness for vodka) who decides it’s not too late to start over.

After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash, some unpleasant criminals, a friendly hot-dog stand operator, and an elephant (not to mention a death by elephant).

It would be the adventure of a lifetime for anyone else, but Allan has a larger-than-life backstory: Not only has he witnessed some of the most important events of the twentieth century, but he has actually played a key role in them. Starting out in munitions as a boy, he somehow finds himself involved in many of the key explosions of the twentieth century and travels the world, sharing meals and more with everyone from Stalin, Churchill, and Truman to Mao, Franco, and de Gaulle. Quirky and utterly unique, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has charmed readers across the world. 

Questions

1. Allan Karlsson is 100 years old. This is unusual; typical icons these days are much younger. How does his age matter to the novel? Did you relate to him?
2. Would you call Allan a role model? Why, or why not?
3. Readers learn about Allan’s past through his stories. Do you trust his memory? Did it occur to you that these might not be true? Why? What does it tell you about the nature of the past, and memory?
4. Throughout the novel Allan encounters historical characters, and gets involved in episodes that change history. Which episode did you enjoy the most? Why?
5. Reviewers across the globe have commented on the humor in the novel. Did you laugh? Would you define this as comic or satiric?
6. What do you think all the main characters had in common, if anything?
7. Are there other any historical figures or moments you would have liked to have featured in the book?
8. Re-read the final pages of the novel. Some would say that Jonasson has left an episode yet to come. What do you think will happen to Allan? Why do you think the author chose to end the novel like this? Would you read a sequel? 

Menu

The menu has been inspired by Sweden! Swedish cuisine is centered around dairy products, crisp and soft (often sugared) breads, beef, pork, and seafood. The importance of fish goes far back in Sweden's history which is why I've picked two fish items. If you have any food restrictions please let me know.

Food

Smoked salmon

Swedish Meatballs

Multigrain crispbread 

Selection of cheeses

Dessert

Chocolate pastry with coconut sprinkles

Drinks

Wine

Sparkling pear drink (non alcoholic)

Recommended: Z by Therese Anne Fowler

If you liked The Paris Wife, I highly recommend this great book about Zelda Fitzgerald. It's an incredible look at one of the most interesting and memorable women of the 1920's. Zelda's life was the complete opposite of Hadley's but equally fascinating (it's hard to believe they lived in Paris and shared a circle of friends). Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite books of all time. 

As a muse to others or an artist in her own right, Zelda Fitzgerald casts a long shadow across twentieth century literature, fashion, and popular culture. She has been cast as an icon, a provocateur, as both angel and devil on the shoulders of a literary genius, but it was her zest for living and loving which made her a legend. Zelda could be both inspirational and insufferable in the same moment, and in Z, Therese Anne Fowler’s exquisite first novel, the essence of this enigmatic woman and her relationship with F. Scott Fitzgerald is captured in all its glory and pain.

Z follows Zelda from her early teenage years, falling for a young soldier and writer, through the literary fame that stalked their marriage, and finally into the devastating descent of their love. We watch as Zelda and Scott revel in the glamorous life encapsulated in Hemingway’s Moveable Feast, thriving on young love and the endless possibilities of Paris in the 1920’s. Scott’s star quickly rises, and Zelda’s yearning for a fuller life is palpable, as she stands impatiently at the edge of the spotlight. In a lesser writer’s hands Zelda’s story could have been either a puff piece or a hatchet job, but Fowler has an amazingly deft touch, and a deep respect for both Zelda and Scott. She brilliantly captures the tremendous, at times even theatrical love that binds them together, as well as the poisonous venom they both allow to seep into their relationship. Their moments of childish vulnerability, passion, and tenderness are endearing, and their viciousness is infuriating – these two truly cannot live with or without each other.

Z unravels the enigma of Zelda Fitzgerald with grace, bravery, and profound honesty. Her spirit will haunt you long after the final page.

About the Book

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, is the story of Hadley Richardson and Ernest Hemingway during the years between 1920 and 1927. A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

Questions

Here are some questions I would like to discuss. I am not sure if we will get through all of them but we can try.

1. Hadley and Ernest don't get a lot of encouragement from their friends and family when they decided to marry. What seems to draw the two together? What are some of the strengths of their initial attraction and partnership? The challenges?
2. Throughout The Paris Wife  Hadley refers to herself as "Victorian" as opposed to "modern." What are some of the ways she doesn't feel like she fits into life in bohemian Paris? How does this impact her relationship with Ernest? Her self-esteem? What are some of the ways Hadley's "old-fashioned" quality can be seen as a strength and not a weakness? 
3. What was the role of literary spouses in 1920's Paris? How is Hadley challenged and restricted by her gender? Would those restrictions have changed if she had been an artist and not merely a "wife"? 
4. One of the most wrenching scenes in the book is when Hadley loses a valise containing all of Ernest's work to date. What kind of turning point does this mark for the Hemingway's marriage? Do you think Ernest ever forgives her? 
5. In The Paris Wife, when Ernest receives his contract for In Our Time, Hadley says, "He would never again be unknown. We would never again be this happy" (page 19). How did fame affect Ernest and his relationship with Hadley?
6. In many ways, Hadley is a very different person at the end of the novel than the girl who encounters Ernest by chance at a party. How do you understand her trajectory and transformation? Are there any ways she essentially doesn't change? 

Menu

If you have any food restrictions please let me know.

 

Food

Selection of cheeses 

Selection of charcuteries

Quiche Lorraine

Dessert

Cream puffs w/ chocolate

Drinks

Death in the Afternoon (also called the Hemingway)

French wine (obvi)

More

Paula McLain on Reviving Ernest Hemingway and The Paris Wife

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”  

― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast