Chunky Book Club: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

 

This month's selection for the Chunky Book Club is Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England--until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear. 

Time Magazine #1 Book of the Year « Book Sense Book of the Year « People Top Ten Books of the Year « Winner of the Hugo Award « A New York Times Notable Book of the Year « Salon.com Top Ten of 2004 «Winner of the World Fantasy Award « Nancy Pearl's Top 12 Books of 2004 « Washington Post Book World's Best of 2004 « Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction 2004 « San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2004 « Winner of the Locus Award for Best First Novel « Chicago Tribune Best of 2004 « Seattle Times 25 Best Books of 2004 « Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 12 Books of 2004 « Village Voice "Top Shelf" « Raleigh News & Observer Best of 2004 « Rocky Mountain News critics' favorites of 2004 « Kansas City Star 100 Newsworthy Books of 2004 « Fort Worth Star-Telegram 10 Best Books of 2004 « Hartford Courant Best Books of 2004

Go to the dedicated website to learn more about the book and author.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Susanna Clarke was born in Nottingham in 1959, the eldest daughter of a Methodist Minister. She spent her childhood in towns in Northern England and Scotland and was educated at St Hilda?s College, Oxford. In 1992 she spent a year in County Durham in a home overlooking the North Sea where she began work on her first novel: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which was published by Bloomsbury in October 2004. She has published seven short stories and novellas in US anthologies. One, The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse, first appeared in a limited-edition, illustrated chapbook from Green Man Press. Another, Mr Simonelli, or The Fairy Widower, was shortlisted for a World Fantasy Award in 2001. Clarke lives in Cambridge with her partner, the novelist and reviewer Colin Greenland.

Listen to Susanna Clarke discussing her memoir: A House in Fez

DISCUSSION:

How Does the Discussion Work?

• ANYONE may participate who has read the book.
• Questions (below) are to stimulate discussion. You may choose to answer any, all or none of them...or you may pose your own questions for discussion.
• Respond in comments on this post. I have activated the "reply" function in comments so that you may reply directly to someone else's comment if you wish to do so.
• Consider subscribing to the comments so that you will be notified when someone posts a comment.
• BE FOREWARNED: There may be spoilers contained in the questions and in the discussion below!!!

That's it! Have fun!!!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. General question: Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not.
2. In Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, instead of turning to engineering marvels to solve the problems of a new age, England seeks a magical renaissance. Does this preclude an Industrial Revolution, or do science and magic coexist in Clarke's universe? Do they develop on separate tracks, or is magic perhaps just another branch of science, like physics and chemistry?
3. The novel superimposes characters, storylines, and an invented universe of legend and lore on figures, events, and mythology drawn from real English history. Would you classify the novel as historical fiction? At what point does it cross into the realm of outright fantasy? 
4. Did you find the heavy footnotes distracting? Or did they add a contextual richness for the story?
5. Who do you believe the narrator is? Is it one of the characters in the story or an objective observer? Is it a man or a woman? Is it a contemporary of the characters, or someone who lived later? Is it one person or more?
6. Ultimately Strange realizes that he must become mad to perceive fairies and the land of Faerie. Does Norrell's earlier success in this area imply something about his own sanity? Does his rather sober personality and impassioned yet reasonable belief that magic must not be practiced by amateurs belie a madman's quest to control the destiny of English magic?
7. The novel clearly belongs to the literary genre of epic fantasy, but is also has a lot to say about English society, the folly of war, the fickleness of public opinion, and historical inequalities of class, race and gender. Clarke lampoons a number of classic stereotypes (pompous government ministers, self-entitled aristocrats, amoral dandies, etc...). Could the novel also be considered a comedy of manners and English social commentary in the tradition of Jane Austen? What is the portrait it paints of Regency England?
8. What does the novel have to say about relationships between men and women, and marriage?
9. What is Clarke saying about race and class in her novel?
10. Who is the ultimate "hero" of the novel?
11. Almost every scene of the novel occurs in winter, yet the final chapter is set in spring. Is this a coincidence, or does it say something about the birth of a new social order?
12. Most of the plot concerns the actions of men. However there are robust female characters who serve as foils for a great deal of the plot - many are viewed as one dimensional by the male characters. What is Clarke saying about the role of women in her novel's society? What does the novel say about the role of men?

Chunky Book Club Discussion: Sea of Poppies

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

Sea of Poppies (2008) is the first installment of a planned trilogy. This epic saga is set just before the Opium Wars, which encapsulates the colonial history of the East. The second in the trilogy, River of Smoke, was published in 2011.

Learn more about the history behind the novel by reading this wonderful interview with Amitav Ghosh.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

• Birth—1956
• Where—Kolkata, India
  Education—St. Stephen's College, Deli; Delhi University;
     Ph.D., Oxford University. 
• Currently—lives in New York City; Kolkata and Goa, India

Amitv Ghosh is the internationally bestselling author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Glass Palace, and is the recipient of numerous awards and prizes. Ghosh divides his time between Kolkata and Goa, India, and Brooklyn, New York. (From the publisher.)

Learn more about Ghosh and his work by visiting the author's website.

Amitav Ghosh's literary awards include:

• Prix Medicis Etranger (French; for Circle of Reason)
• Sahitya Akademic and Ananda Pursaskar Awards (Indian;
    for The Shadow Lines)
• Arthur C. Clarke Award (UK; for The Calcutta Chromosome)
• Grand Prize-Fiction, Frankfurt International e-Book Awards
    (for The Glass Palace)
• Hutch Crossword Book Prize (Indian; for The Hungry Tide)
• Grinzane Cavour Prize (Italian)
• Shortlisted for Man Booker (UK; for Sea of Poppies)

DISCUSSION:

How Does the Discussion Work?

• ANYONE may participate who has read the book.
• Questions (below) are to stimulate discussion. You may choose to answer any, all or none of them...or you may pose your own questions for discussion.
• Respond in comments on this post. I have activated the "reply" function in comments so that you may reply directly to someone else's comment if you wish to do so.
• Consider subscribing to the comments so that you will be notified when someone posts a comment.
• BE FOREWARNED: There may be spoilers contained in the questions and in the discussion below!!!

That's it! Have fun!!!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Have you read anything by this author before? If so what have you read and how does it compare to Sea of Poppies?
2. How does class and the caste system impact the relationships between the characters?
3. How are women's roles different from men's in Sea of Poppies? What common ground do Deeti, Paulette, and Munia share?
4. Many of the lives Ghosh depicts are shaped by social and political forces beyond their control. What are some of these forces? Describe some of the individual acts of bravery, defiance, or deception that enable his characters to break free from what they see as their fate. 
5. How does the opium trade industry compare to modern-day drug trafficking versus the pharmaceutical industry?
6. Love is one of the themes in the novel. Discuss the power of love as it motivates the characters. Does obsession strengthen or weaken Baboo Nob Kissin? What kind of love is illustrated when Deeti gives up her child? What kinds of love does Neel experience in the presence of his loyal wife and his fickle mistress?
7. Which historical aspects of the Opium Wars surprised you the most? What did you discover about colonial India by reading Sea of Poppies?
8. Sea of Poppies makes rich use of Asian-influenced English and the language of the novel is unique. Did you find the use of language in the novel cumbersome or did it add to the richness of Ghosh's book? Discuss the "Ibis Chrestomathy," which appears at the end of the book. What do Neel's observations suggest about language and culture? Why do you think some words disappear from usage, while others endure? Can a culture's vitality be measured by how eagerly its language absorbs outside influences?
9. There are two more novels in the trilogy. Do you have plans to read either of them? Both of them? 

If you have read Sea of Poppies and reviewed it, please feel free to add a link to your review using Mr. Linky below:

Chunky Book Club Reminder

This month we are reading and discussing SEA OF POPPIES by Amitav Ghosh. Discussion questions will be post by the 15th of the month...and I hope you'll join us!

The Map Of Time: Chunky Book Club Discussion

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

Atria Books

I'm opening the discussion early for the Chunky Book Club so today opens the discussion of The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma. I hope you all have enjoyed the journey through Palma's time machine! If you haven't visited the Official Website for the book, I hope you'll do so - it is really a fun and interactive site.

Palma's follow up novel to The Map of Time - The Map of the Sky -is being given away here on the Chunkster Challenge blog. It is a signed edition and we have three copies up for grabs. Participation in this discussion will offer you additional chances to win a copy. Visit this post to enter.

A little about the author:

Felix J. Palma has been loudly acclaimed by critics as one of the most brilliant and original storytellers of our time. The Map of Time, his US debut, was a New York Times and international bestseller. Read more about Palma here.

If you have read The Map of Time and reviewed it, please feel free to add a link to your review using Mr. Linky below:

How Does the Discussion Work?

• ANYONE may participate who has read the book.
• Questions (below) are to stimulate discussion. You may choose to answer any, all or none of them...or you may pose your own questions for discussion.
• Respond in comments on this post. I have activated the "reply" function in comments so that you may reply directly to someone else's comment if you wish to do so.
• Consider subscribing to the comments so that you will be notified when someone posts a comment.
• BE FOREWARNED: There may be spoilers contained in the questions and in the discussion below!!!

That's it! Have fun!!!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

*Many questions below were borrowed from Lit Lovers

1. Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not?
2. Author Felix J. Palma has written about how he prepared himself to write The Map of Time: To do it, I'd have to immerse myself in the Victorian era and think like an Englishman from the nineteenth century.... I started to educate myself on the period so I could realistically portray what a fascinating time it was to be alive in London, the largest city on earth. Does Palma succeed in bringing Victorian London to life? As you read his work, did you feel as if you were present in that world?
3. Consider time travel: What would happen if you met your future self? What would you do, or say? If you could alter the past, what would you change—in your own life...or, on a grander scale, in the world?
4. Which of the three interrelated stories did you most enjoy...and why?
5. On page 7 (hardcover edition), the narrator writes: "Assuming you stay until the end of this tale, some of you will no doubt think that I chose the wrong thread with which to begin spinning my yarn, and that for accuracy's sake I should have respected chronological order and begun with Miss Haggerty's story." Do you think that starting with Andrew's story made the most sense for the story, or should have the narrator started with Claire's story?
6. Were you caught off guard—surprised—by the twists and turns of the plots? Did you experience any "you got me there" moments? What about those "Ah-ha!" moments when things started to make sense, or come together for you...any of those?
7. What about Andrew Harrington? Is he too immersed in self-pity to admire? Or is he presistent and courageous in his attempt to save Marie Kelly from Jack the Ripper? Speaking of Jack the Ripper, are the descriptions of his murders overly graphic? Or are they integral to the plot, atmosphere, and sense of place?
8. Why is Claire Haggerty unhappy with her life? What does she wish for? Did you find her story believable?
9. H.G. Wells takes a prominent role in the novel. Have you read his classic The Time Machine? If so, do you think reading that book first enhances Palma's novel? Is it important to understand the "real" H.G. Wells to fully appreciate Palma's characterization of him?
10. Talk about the way in which Palma portrays the year 2000. Does the year have anything in common with the actual 2000? Is it possibly symbolic of trends in technology? Is Palma's 2000 a totally alien world to ours, or is it a vaguely (and scarily) familiar one?
11. In the end, the book offers a compendium of cosmic speculation—parallel universes, loopholes in the time continuum, alternative histories, and the Map of Time. If you are not a science-fiction devotee, do you find these discussions intriguing or engaging? Or is it necessary to be a hard-core sci-fi fan to appreciate them?
12. How does this novel suggest, metaphorically, that time travel is actually possible? How does it suggest that right now, today, any of us may slip the bonds of this world and transport ourselves through space and time?
13. What do you think of the narrator? Do you find the comments engaging, perhaps humorous ... or tiresome and irritating? Why might the author have created an intrusive narrative voice?
14. Is the ending satisfying? If so, why? If not, why not...and how would you change it? 
15. If you could ask the author a question, what would you ask?  
16. Do you plan on reading the follow up book The Map of the Sky? If not, why not.

Winners Announced - The Map of the Sky

Thank you to all who entered to win a signed copy of The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma. For those of you who entered and did not win - I hope you will come back and enter again during the first week in March when we will be giving away THREE MORE signed copies of the book!

Tonight I used Random.org to choose TWO winners. Congratulations to:

Dana @ Lovely Little Books

and

Erin @ Beads 'n Books

new winner chosen:
Marie 

I'm sending you both an email - please respond to that with your snail mail address so the publisher may send you your books!

The Map of Time - A Chunkster for March AND A Fabulous GIVE AWAY

I am really looking forward to March's book for the Chunky Book Club - and I hope you are as well!

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma (Atria Books, June 2011) is one gorgeous book with stunning end pages and a depiction of the map of time from the story. This novel has gotten some great reviews which call it "strange and wonderful,""brilliant and breathtaking," and "singularly inventive."

Browse inside the book.

I hope you'll be joining our discussion March 15th, here on the Chunkster Challenge blog!

BOOK GIVE AWAY 

February 1, 2013 through February 14, 2013 (at 5:00 pm PST)

 I am also super excited to announce a book giveaway of Palma's second book in the series: The Map of the Sky (Atria Books, September 2012). The publisher has very generously offered up FIVE, SIGNED editions for us to give away to readers with US or Canada mailing addresses. Today, we are going to offer up TWO of those copies to TWO lucky winners.

Usually I try to keep our giveaways international (so in the past I've offered to mail books out of the country if we get a winner outside of US or Canada) - however, with the huge hike in shipping rates as of the end of January, I will not be able to do this any longer. My apologies to our international readers.

ABOUT MAP OF THE SKY:

A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells’s War of the Worlds. What follows are three brilliantly interconnected plots to create a breathtaking tale of time travel and mystery, replete with cameos by a young Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Shackleton and Charles Winslow from The Map of Time.

Browse inside the book.

So, here is how this giveaway will work...

• Two, signed books are up for grabs (watch this site in March when three more copies will be given away and participants in the Chunky book club will get additional entries for those books) to US or Canada mailing addresses.
• ANYONE may enter, but there are ways to get extra entries (see below).
• Contest will close at 5:00 pm (PST) on February 14th and two winners will be randomly chosen and announced here on the Chunkster Blog.
• A legitimate email address must be provided for each entry to be valid OR if you have not provided an email address and I announce your name on the blog, you must respond to me within 5 days with a legitimate email address in order to claim your prize (otherwise, I will select another name).

HOW TO ENTER:

• Leave a separate comment for each entry and include a legitimate email address (if your email is connected to your blogger account and I can access it, that is fine).
• For ONE entry: Leave a comment, any comment.
• For a SECOND entry: Join the Chunkster Challenge and the leave me a comment telling me you did so.
• For a THIRD entry: Like the Map of Time Facebook Page, then come back and tell me you did so.
• For a FOURTH entry: Tweet or blog about the contest, come back and leave me a link to your tweet or blog post.

So FOUR chances per person - Good luck!!!

2013 Chunky Book Club Schedule

The votes are in and there are four clear winners for the 2013 Chunky Book Club! Below is the schedule for when we will be discussing each book. I hope you'll join us for as many of these books as you able.

A reminder of the "rules":

• All discussions will be held here on the Chunkster Challenge blog in the comments section of the blog post about the book.
• Discussions will begin mid-month and continue for as long as people want to discuss the book.
• Discussion questions will be posted but are meant as guidelines. Readers may introduce their own discussion questions through comments and this is encouraged.
• Those readers who have read the book and reviewed it on their blog are invited to provide a link to their review.
• Participants in the Chunky Book Club do NOT need to join the Chunkster Challenge, although you are more than welcome to do both! 
• ANY format of book is acceptable (ie: audio, e-book, or physical book are just fine!)

The Schedule for 2013

March 2013

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma 

June 2013 

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

September 2013

 Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

December 2013 

 (Discussion to begin by the 5th of the month due to the holidays)

 Elizabeth 1 by Margaret George

Chunky Book Club - PLEASE VOTE!

 UPDATE 1/20/2013 @ 5:14 pm PST - VOTING IS NOW CLOSED!!!!

The nominations are in and it is time to vote for the four books you would like to see discussed as part of the Chunky Book Club in 2013.

The nominated books are listed below. Follow the links to learn more about each book.

When you are ready, go to the poll in the right side bar of this blog and vote for FOUR books.  Please do not vote multiple times, just select the four books you would most want to see discussed and then press the vote button once.

Those books with the highest votes, will be our selections. In the case of ties, we will have a run off vote. Voting is open through January 20th.

The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka - 580 pages
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh - 530 pages
A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles - 968 pages
Readme by Neal Stephanson - 1056 pages
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears - 704 pages
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 782 pages
Russka by Edward Rutherford - 960 pages
Brother Fish by Bryce Courtenay - 1078 pages
Under the Dome by Stephen King - 1073 pages
The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - 609 pages
Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset - 1168 pages
Elizabeth 1 by Margaret George - 688 pages

Nominations for Chunky Book Club - REMINDER

Nominations for the 2013 Chunky Book Club will be closing at the end of the day on January 9th. If you are interested in nominating a book for the club, please visit THIS POST and leave up to TWO nominations in the comments. So far the nominations are:

The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka - 580 pages
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh - 530 pages
A Moment in the Sun by John Sayles - 968 pages
Readme by Neal Stephanson - 1056 pages
An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears - 704 pages
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - 782 pages
Russka by Edward Rutherford - 960 pages
Brother Fish by Bryce Courtenay - 1078 pages
Under the Dome by Stephen King - 1073 pages
The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - 609 pages

Voting for books will commence on January 10th and run through the 20th. The top four vote-getters will be chosen (in the case of a tie we will have a run off).

2013 Chunky Book Club - NOMINATIONS

We will be hosting the Chunky Book Club in 2013. There seems to be enough interest to give this another try! Please visit the Chunky Book Club page for all the details about the club.

The poll I took re: the club indicated that participants would like a chance to nominate books to read. So here is the plan:

• Please nominate up to TWO books by leaving a comment on this post. Please do not nominate books if you do not intend to participate in the club!
• Books must be a minimum of 450 pages to be eligible.
• Books may be in ANY genre.
• Comments will be open through January 9th for nominations. At that time, comments will close. Voting on which books we will read will open on January 10th and remain open through the 20th of the month at which time the top FOUR vote-getters will be announced along with the dates we will be reading them.
• The first book discussion will be scheduled around March 15th.

Please consider subscribing to this blog either through a feed reader (such as Google Reader) or by signing up for email alerts (you may do this by filling out the SIGN UP BY EMAIL form in the right sidebar of this blog.

Chunky Book Club - To Be or Not to Be?

In 2012, we decided to try something new here on the Chunkster Challenge: a chunky book club which did not require participants to join the challenge, AND any format of book was acceptable.

Initially, there seemed to be some interest in this concept, so we provided a poll for book selections and went forward. Unfortunately, we did not have the level of participation we would have liked. So, now we are re-thinking the idea. Should we offer a book club in 2013 or not?

We would love your input!

Please consider taking the two polls in the sidebar of this blog (the polls are open through the 19th of this month). Also we would love to hear your comments on this post. If we do the book club again, what should we change? What should stay the same? If you didn't participate, what would encourage you to do so? If you did participate, what was your experience like? If we offer the book club, should we continue to offer it 4 times a year (every three months)? Less? More?

Thanks in advance for your input...this blog is meant to be for YOU, the readers of all things chunky so we value your opinion!

The Invisible Bridge - CHUNKY BOOK CLUB Discussion Post

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

Welcome to the final Chunky Book Club discussion for 2012! This month's book club read is The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer which is set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, and involves three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war. Orringer's historical novel was long listed for the prestigious Orange Prize. Anyone is welcome to the discussion which will continue through the rest of this month. Please respond to comments on this post to join the conversation. You may want to subscribe to comments to make it easier to discuss the book. 

The following questions are to help get the conversation started - feel free to answer any, all or none of them - or come up with your own questions! 

**BEWARE: Spoilers may be contained in the questions and answers on this discussion post.

************************

1. Did you enjoy the book? Why or why not? 
2. Why do Andras and his friends at the Ecole Spéciale tolerate the undercurrent of anti-Semitism at the school even after the verbal attack on Eli Polaner (pp. 39–40) and the spate of vandalism against Jewish students (p. 94)? To what extent are their reactions shaped by their nationalities, political beliefs, or personal histories?
3. Is Klara’s initial lack of openness about her background justified by her situation? Do Klara’s revelations (pp. 214–34) change your opinion of her and the way she has behaved? 
4. Despite the grim circumstances, Andras and Mendel produce satirical newspapers in the labor camps. What do the excerpts from The Snow Goose (p. 331), The Biting Fly (pp. 360–61), and The Crooked Rail (p. 437) show about the strategies that helped laborers preserve their humanity and their sanity? What other survival techniques do Andras and his fellow laborers develop? 
5. What impact do the deprivations and degradations imposed by the Germans have on the relationship between the families in the book? Which characters are the least able or willing to accept the threats to their homeland and their culture? 
6.  What details in the descriptions of Bánhida (pp. 356–63, pp. 392–99), Turka (pp. 486–503), and the transport trains (pp. 558–66) most chillingly capture the cruelty perpetrated by the Nazis? In addition to physical abuse and deprivation, what are the psychological effects of the camps’ rules and the laws imposed on civilian populations? 
7. What political ideals and moral principles lie at the heart Nagy’s stirring speech to the officers-in-training (pp. 506–7)? (Because of his refusal to support official anti-Semitic policies, Nagy was eventually forced to resign from the Hungarian army; in 1965, he was the first Hungarian named as a Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Institute.) 
8. Discuss the value and importance of Jewish beliefs and traditions to Andras and other Jews, considering such passages as Andras’s feelings on page 46 ("He could no sooner cease being Jewish than he could cease being a brother to his brothers, a son to his father and mother.") and his thoughts on the High Holidays (pp. 201­–3); the weddings of Ben Yakov and Ilana (pp. 255–56) and of Andras and Klara (p. 317); the family seder in wartime Budapest (pp. 352–55); and the prayers and small rituals conducted in work camps. 
9. What aspects of architecture as a discipline make it particularly appropriate to the themes explored in the novel? What is the relevance of Andras’s work as a set designer within this context? 
10. The Holocaust and other murderous confrontations between ethnic groups can challenge the belief in God. “(Andras) believed in God, yes, the God of his fathers, the one to whom he’d prayed…but that God, the One, was not One who intervened in the way the needed someone to intervene just then. He had designed the cosmos and thrown its doors open to man, and man had moved in…The world was their place now” (p. 432). What is your reaction to Andras’s point of view? Have you read or heard explanations of why terrible events come to pass that more closely reflect your personal beliefs? 
11. What did you know about Hungary’s role in World War II before reading The Invisible Bridge? Did the book present information about the United States and its Allies that surprised you? Did it affect your views on Zionism and the Jewish emigration to Palestine?  Did it deepen your understanding of the causes and the course of the war?  
12. Why has Orringer chosen “Any Case” by the Nobel Prize–winning Polish poet Wislawa Szymborkska as the coda to her novel? What does it express about individuals caught in the flow of history and the forces that determine their fates? 

Have you reviewed this book? Please consider including a link to your review below (using Mr. Linky):

Chunky Book Club reminder

This is just a reminder that the last book club discussion of the year will focus on Julie Orringer’s latest book, The Invisible Bridge. The discussion post will go up around the 10^th of December and the discussion will take place all month long. 

From the front jacket:

Julie Orringer’s astonishing first novel, eagerly awaited since the publication of her heralded best-selling short-story collection, How to Breathe Underwater (“fiercely beautiful” The New York Times; “unbelievably good” Monica Ali), is a grand love story set against the backdrop of Budapest and Paris, an epic tale of three brothers whose lives are ravaged by war, and the chronicle of one family’s struggle against the forces that threaten to annihilate it.

Paris, 1937. Andras Lévi, a Hungarian-Jewish architecture student, arrives from Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase, and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he falls into a complicated relationship with the letters recipient, he becomes privy to a secret history that will alter the course of his own life. Meanwhile, as his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena and their younger brother leaves school for the stage, Europe’s unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty. At the end of Andras’s second summer in Paris, all of Europe erupts in a cataclysm of war.

From the small Hungarian town of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andrass room on the rue des Écoles to the deep and enduring connection he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of Carpathian winter to an unimaginable life in forced labor camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a love tested by disaster, of brothers whose bonds cannot be broken, of a family shattered and remade in history’s darkest hour, and of the dangerous power of art in a time of war.

Expertly crafted, magnificently written, emotionally haunting, and impossible to put down, The Invisible Bridge resoundingly confirms Julie Orringer’s place as one of today’s most vital and commanding young literary talents.

Remember you don't have to be a participate of the challenge to join in on the book club discussions. Plus, you can read this book in any format.

 Happy reading.

Reminder: Discussion of Fall of Giants

Just a reminder that we are still discussing FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett - all month I am posting updated questions on THIS POST. Right now the discussion is slow, but I hope you will consider joining us!

Chunky Book Club: Fall of Giants

Today marks the first day of discussion of Ken Follett's novel FALL OF GIANTS - the first book in a projected trilogy.

I am using questions from the Penguin Reading Guide. These questions are to stimulate discussion but are in no way designed to restrict discussion. Please feel free to add your own questions or take the discussion in a different direction.

You may wish to subscribe to the comments on this post to make following the discussion easier.

Because there are twenty prepared questions...it is my intent to post 5 new questions every other day so as not to overwhelm readers! I will add each set of questions to this post, so please check back often!

Feel free to answer any or all of the questions or to add your own in the comments.

Please be aware that there may be "Spoilers" in both questions and answers in this discussion post!

FIRST SET OF QUESTIONS:

1. Before reading Fall of Giants, what did you know about World War I? Did you learn anything new upon finishing the novel?


2. Is there a custom or practice from the book's early twentieth-century time period that you wish existed in our modern day? What would it be, and why do you think it should have a place in today's world?


3. Is it significant that Fall of Giants begins with the stories of Billy and Ethel Williams? Would the novel have been different if other characters' stories opened the book, such as those of Grigori and Lev Peshkov, or Gus Dewar?


4. Talk about the historical figures that appear throughout Fall of Giants, such as Woodrow Wilson, King George V, Vladimir Lenin, and others. What did you think of Ken Follett's depiction of them? Do you like seeing notable people such as these come alive in fiction, or do you prefer reading about them in a strictly historical context?


5. When you first read about Billy Williams in chapter one, did you anticipate how his life would unfurl—for example, that he would end up in running for Parliament? What about other characters: Could you guess what some of them would end up doing or being at the book's end?

Forgive me for the delay...here is the SECOND SET OF QUESTIONS:

1. Do you enjoy reading epic novels such as this one? What makes them so appealing to readers, in your opinion?


2. In continuation of the above question, if you had to identify one of the main characters' stories as one that would make a good "stand-alone" novel, which would it be? Why do you think his/her story would make an enjoyable book on its own?


3. Think about the main characters and what place faith held in their lives. Did religion help or hinder their respective circumstances? What is the overall role of religion in Fall of Giants?


4. Along these lines, discuss the characters who abandoned their respective faiths. What caused them to walk away from their beliefs? To what end?


5. Follett depicts life in the early twentieth century through a series of detailed and imagery-rich scenes: the pitch-darkness of a Welsh coal mine, the opulence of an English country manor, the austerity of pre-industrial Russia, the horrors of a French battlefield. Which scenes stood out for you? Why did they make such an impression?


6. Follett writes from the vantage points of people whose home countries come to the brink of—and finally enter into—a world war. What was it like to read the perspectives of enemies as they embark on battle with one another? Did you find yourself taking sides in any way? Did reading about World War I through fiction cause you to think differently about the conflict?


7. Follett populates this novel with several strong female characters. Compare/contrast some of them; who was your favorite? Which one did you like least? Apply the same question to the book's male figures. When considering those of different backgrounds and social classes, were any of the male figures similar to one another?

Third Set of Questions:

1. Discuss Maud and Ethel's relationship. Did you expect them to form such a lasting bond, considering they met as mistress and servant? What did you think of the circumstances surrounding how their friendship ultimately dissolved?


2. Also contemplate Ethel and Maud's work as women's rights advocates. Were there aspects of each woman's personal life that seemed at odds with her commitment to advancing the cause of women?


3. Go back to the Aberowen mine explosion in chapter two. Do you think it's a metaphor for any of the novel's themes? How do things change in Aberowen, and elsewhere, after this disaster?


4. Discuss examples of the disparity between how women and men were treated during this era. Were women regarded better, or worse, than you imagined they'd be? How far have women come since the early 1900s? What inequalities between the sexes still persist today?

Ken Follett: Author of Fall of Giants

Ken Follett is one of the world’s best-loved novelists. He has sold more than 130 million copies of his books. His book, Fall of Giants, went straight to the No.1 position on bestseller lists in the USA, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Follett's first novel in 1978 was Eye of the Needle, which won the Edgar award and was made into a film starring Kate Nelligan and Donald Sutherland.

Follett's novel The Pillars of the Earth, about building a cathedral in the Middle Ages, was a detour from the spy genre for which he had become known. Published in September 1989 to rave reviews, it was on the New York Times bestseller list for eighteen weeks. It also reached the No. 1 position on lists in Canada, Great Britain and Italy, and was on the German bestseller list for six years, and voted the third greatest book ever written by 250,000 viewers of the German television station ZDF in 2004.

His current project is his most ambitious yet. The Century Trilogy will tell the entire history of the twentieth century, seen through the eyes of five linked families: one American, one English, one German, one Russian, and one Welsh. The first book, Fall of Giants, focusing on the First World War and the Russian Revolution, was published worldwide on 28 September 2010. The second book, Winter of the World,about the Spanish Civil War, the Second World War, and the development of nuclear weapons, will be published in many countries in September 2012.

Learn more about Follett and his work by visiting the author's website.

Watch Ken Follett speak at the 2010 National Book Festival:

 

Fall of Giants is the September pick for the Chunky Book Club. Please join us mid-month for the discussion!

Fall of Giants - Chunky Book Club Pick (September)

ABOUT THE BOOK (from the publisher):

Fall of Giants is the first novel in The Century Trilogy, it follows the fates of five interrelated families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—as they move through the world-shaking dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women's suffrage.

Thirteen-year-old Billy Williams enters a man's world in the Welsh mining pits… Gus Dewar, an American law student rejected in love, finds a surprising new career in Woodrow Wilson's White House… two orphaned Russian brothers, Grigori and Lev Peshkov, embark on radically different paths half a world apart when their plan to emigrate to America falls afoul of war, conscription, and revolution… Billy's sister, Ethel, a housekeeper for the aristocratic Fitzherberts, takes a fateful step above her station, while Lady Maud Fitzherbert herself crosses deep into forbidden territory when she falls in love with Walter von Ulrich, a spy at the German embassy in London…

These characters and many others find their lives inextricably entangled as, in a saga of unfolding drama and intriguing complexity, Fall of Giants moves seamlessly from Washington to St. Petersburg, from the dirt and danger of a coal mine to the glittering chandeliers of a palace, from the corridors of power to the bedrooms of the mighty. As always with Ken Follett, the historical background is brilliantly researched and rendered, the action fast-moving, the characters rich in nuance and emotion. It is destined to be a new classic.

In future volumes of The Century Trilogy, subsequent generations of the same families will travel through the great events of the rest of the twentieth century, changing themselves—and the century itself. With passion and the hand of a master, Follett brings us into a world we thought we knew, but now will never seem the same again.

Watch the book trailer:



Listen to Ken Follett discuss the book:

JOIN US mid-month to discuss this epic novel! 

FTC Disclosure: Book giveaways and featured book articles are NOT paid promos. Although books for giveaway will be supplied by the publisher (in most cases), The Chunkster Challenge administrators do not accept payment to host these special events. 

Reminder: Chunky Book Club Pick for September

The September book club pick for the Chunky Book Club is FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett. We will begin discussion of the novel mid-month...so if you have not yet started this door stopper, you still have time!

Watch for a post in the early part of the month about the book and author.

And, if you have already read this book, look for the release of its sequel on September 18th:

Chunky Book Club: Discussion of THE MEMORY OF LOVE

 Welcome to this month's Chunky Book Club!

This month's book club selection is Aminatta Forna's The Memory of Love. We'll be discussing this book for the rest of the month so if you haven't read it yet, why not join us? Remember, discussions are open to participants and non-participants alike and you can read our book club selections on any format.

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your overall thoughts on the book? Did it disappoint or live up to your expectations? 
2. While reading The Memory of Love, I realized that I've never read a book set in Sierra Leone before. Have you ever read a book set in this country before?
3. What do you think of Elias and his story?
4. Why is Elias so obsessed with Saffia?
5. How was Forna's writing? There was some very beautiful passages in the book, such as: "Out in the street I pushed my hand deep into my pocket, closing my fingers around the warmth of her touch, like an object I was afraid of losing. For a long time as I walked I wondered what it might be like to feel that touch, every day, whenever you felt the need. On an arm, on the back of your neck, on your cheek. A kiss. An embrace" (p. 60). Were there any passages or points in the book that stood out?
6. What did you think of the structure of the book and the changing points of view? In your opinion, did it work? 
7.  "But the hope has to be real - Atilla's warning to Adrian. I fall down. I get up. Westerns Adrian has met despise the fatalism. But perhaps it is the way people have found to survive" (p. 320). What do you think of this hypothesis? Do you believe, as is suggested, that the population as a whole is suffering from PTSD? Is that everyone's secret?

I can't wait to read everyone's thoughts on the book! If you're joining the discussion, it's probably best to subscribe to the comments so you don't miss anything.

Please feel free to provide a link to your review if you have read and reviewed the book:

June's Chunky Book Club Selection: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

It’s June and we’re halfway through the year! I hope everyone’s having a great reading year. I know I am.  Now that summer is just around the corner, Wendy and I know the perfect book to take with you to the beach:

This month’s Chunky Book Club selection: The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

From the back cover,

In contemporary Sierra Leone, a devastating civil war has left an entire populace with secrets to keep. In the capital hospital, a gifted young surgeon is plagued by demons that are beginning to threaten his livelihood. Elsewhere in the hospital lies a dying man who was young during the country’s turbulent postcolonial years and has stories to tell that are far from heroic. As past and present intersect in the buzzing city, these men are drawn unwittingly closer by a British psychologist with good intentions, and into the path of one woman at the center of their stories. A work of breathtaking writing and rare wisdom, The Memory of Love seamlessly weaves together two generations of African life to create a story of loss, absolution, and indelible effects of the past−and, in the end, the very nature of love.

The Memory of Love was first published in 2010 by Bloomsbury (U.K.) to rave reviews before being published in the U.S. last year by Grove Atlantic.  Since its publication, The Memory of Love has been nominated for the Warwick Prize (2011) and IMPAC Dublin Award (2012), shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction (2011), and won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book Overall (2011). It’s also an Essence Magazine Book Club pick. 

Of the book, The New York Times wrote: She (Forna) reminds us that what matters most is that which keeps us grounded in the place of our choosing.  And she writes to expose what remains after all the noise has faded: at the core of this novel is the brave and beating heart, at once vulnerable and determined, unwilling to let go of all it has ever loved.

I can’t wait to read this. The discussion post will go up on the ^14th of this month. Remember, you don’t have to be a participant of the Chunkster Challenge to join in the discussion. Plus, you can read The Memory of Love in any format. 

If that's not enough to convince you, here's a video of the author discussing the book. 

Happy reading.