I'm just posting our discussion questions from the following two books, in case you missed the weekend, but read the books...
Questions for He Drown She in the Sea (Shani Mootoo)
1. Why did Mootoo set this novel in a fictional island instead of Trinidad?
2. What is the effect of the skipping through time?
3. What role do class divisions play in the story? What about race?
4. How did you feel about Rose’s father’s reaction when he discovered the children sleeping together?
5. Reviewers describe the patois her characters speak as lyrical and sensuous. Do you agree?
6. An important scene happens when Rose and her mother visit Dolly and Harry at their seaside shack. She says
to him “They are not our friends. Maybe I myself mislead you.” What impact did this scene have?
7. The book takes quite a plot twist at the end. Did it feel real to you?
Note: Click here to hear Shani Mootoo read from her book.
Questions for Venous Hum (Suzette Mayr)
1. The publisher calls this novel “magic realism.” According to a google search, “literature of this type is usually characterized by elements of the fantastic woven into the story with a deadpan sense of presentation. The term is not without a lot of controversy, however, and has come under attack for numerous reasons. Some claim that it is a postcolonial hangover, a category used by “whites” to marginalize the fiction of the “other.” Others claim that it is a passé literary trend. Still others feel the term is simply too limiting, and acts to remove the fiction in question from the world of serious literature.” What do you think?
2. "Mayr sutures the plot velocity of a genre book together with literary language and politics, creating a Frankenstein's monster of a novel, one with more elegance and brains than you’d expect."(Toronto Star) Do you agree?
3. Several reviewers feel that the book had a lot of potential and went “off the rails” when Lai Fun’s mother reveals her cannibalistic side. How did you feel about this element of the strange and unusual?
4. A quote from the author to think about: “I wanted to explore the horror genre, but what always struck me about Dracula and those type of books is that it’s about a rich white guy who everyone finds instantly attractive,” Mayr explains. “And I thought, ‘Well, what’s so horrible about that? Why can’t the monster be an immigrant woman who can’t find a job with a
spendthrift husband who works at a gas station?’”
5. Do you think the author went for the gory punch line, or was it a valid storyline?
Questions for He Drown She in the Sea (Shani Mootoo)
1. Why did Mootoo set this novel in a fictional island instead of Trinidad?
2. What is the effect of the skipping through time?
3. What role do class divisions play in the story? What about race?
4. How did you feel about Rose’s father’s reaction when he discovered the children sleeping together?
5. Reviewers describe the patois her characters speak as lyrical and sensuous. Do you agree?
6. An important scene happens when Rose and her mother visit Dolly and Harry at their seaside shack. She says
to him “They are not our friends. Maybe I myself mislead you.” What impact did this scene have?
7. The book takes quite a plot twist at the end. Did it feel real to you?
Note: Click here to hear Shani Mootoo read from her book.
Questions for Venous Hum (Suzette Mayr)
1. The publisher calls this novel “magic realism.” According to a google search, “literature of this type is usually characterized by elements of the fantastic woven into the story with a deadpan sense of presentation. The term is not without a lot of controversy, however, and has come under attack for numerous reasons. Some claim that it is a postcolonial hangover, a category used by “whites” to marginalize the fiction of the “other.” Others claim that it is a passé literary trend. Still others feel the term is simply too limiting, and acts to remove the fiction in question from the world of serious literature.” What do you think?
2. "Mayr sutures the plot velocity of a genre book together with literary language and politics, creating a Frankenstein's monster of a novel, one with more elegance and brains than you’d expect."(Toronto Star) Do you agree?
3. Several reviewers feel that the book had a lot of potential and went “off the rails” when Lai Fun’s mother reveals her cannibalistic side. How did you feel about this element of the strange and unusual?
4. A quote from the author to think about: “I wanted to explore the horror genre, but what always struck me about Dracula and those type of books is that it’s about a rich white guy who everyone finds instantly attractive,” Mayr explains. “And I thought, ‘Well, what’s so horrible about that? Why can’t the monster be an immigrant woman who can’t find a job with a
spendthrift husband who works at a gas station?’”
5. Do you think the author went for the gory punch line, or was it a valid storyline?
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