The Wandering Falcon April 2016

April 2016 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, April 14th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our April book The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Brief overview of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

Economist article from 2009 describing Waziristan

Season Two of the podcast, Serial, looks deeply into the kidnapping of Bowe Bergdahl, who was held by the Taliban in the FATA areas. Their website has lots of maps and information.

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. May 12^th        Euphoria by Lily King

Thurs. June 9^th         Mary Coin by Marisa Silver

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

1.       How would you describe life within an itinerant tribe? What intrigues you about this kind of existence? Would you be cut out for the harsh realities of desert life?

2.       How would you describe the interactions between the tribes? How do they settle disputes? Is there any common ground that the tribal groups share? Were you surprised by the diversity or sheer number of tribes in this region?

3.       How would you describe the interactions between the tribes and the “civilized” culture? What are the challenges or injustices that they endure? What is lost in translation, and why are there so few voices of support? For example, do you think the Baluchs had a fair trial? Or, do you think the conflict with bureaucracy snuffed out the Kharot tribe and their flock?

4.       “The pressures were inexorable. One set of values, one way of life had to die. In this clash, the state, as always proved stronger than the individual. The new way of life triumphed over the old” (page 52). How is life changing for the tribes with modernization accelerating around them? What will be lost when their culture is extinguished—or do you think their way of life can be preserved?

5.       What have you learned about this remote corner of the world? Have you researched or looked into the geopolitical importance of the FATA today?

6.       What is Tor Baz’s influence on the events and people that inhabit the book? What is his journey like, and what events shape him? Is he a sympathetic, likable character? Where are his alliances?

7.       How does honor—and revenge—play a role in the lives of the tribesmen?

8.       Why do you think the author switched to a first person voice for the story “The Guide”? The speaker is a foreigner to the region, and is in search of something profound. What is it? Does he find it?

9.      What roles are open to women in tribal life? How would you describe the female characters’ lives?

10.   Did you enjoy the vignette style of this book? Do you think the author was successful in painting a vibrant, energetic world through such small windows? Did you find yourself transported?

11.   In a way, this book tells an important “nonfiction” story through a fiction lens. What importance does the role of fiction play in helping us understand the world?

The Martian March 2016

March 2016 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, March 10th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our March book and the One Book/One Marin selection, The Martian by Andy Weir.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Challenges of traveling to Mars

Will we ever colonize Mars?

Two sites with photos of Mars – National Geographic and EarthSky.org

Mars 2020 Project

Sir Francis Drake High School White Mountain Mars project

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Apr.14^th          The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

Thurs. May 12^th        Euphoria by Lily King

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

The Martian by Andy Weir

1. How did The Martian challenge your expectations of what the novel would be? What did you find most surprising about it?
   
   2. What makes us root for a character to live in a survival story? In what ways do you identify with Mark? How does the author get you to care about him?
   
   3. Do you believe the crew did the right thing in abandoning the search for Mark? Was there an alternative choice?
   
   4. Did you find the science and technology behind Mark's problem-solving accessible? How did that information add to the realism of the story?
   
   5. What are some of the ways the author established his credibility with scientific detail? Which of Mark's solutions did you find most amazing and yet believable?
   
   5. What is your visual picture of the surface of Mars, based on the descriptions in the book? Have you seen photographs of the planet?
   
   7. Who knew potatoes, duct tape, and seventies reruns were the key to space survival? How does each of these items represent aspects of Mark's character that help him survive?
   
   8. How is Mark's sense of humor as much a survival skill as his knowledge of botany? Do you have a favorite funny line of his?
   
   9. To what extent does Mark's log serve as his companion? Do you think it's implicit in the narrative that maintaining a log keeps him sane?
   
   10. The author provides almost no back story regarding Mark's life on Earth. Why do you think he made this choice? What do you imagine Mark's past life was like?
   
   11. There's no mention of Mark having a romantic relationship on Earth. Do you think that makes it easier or harder to endure his isolation? How would the story be different if he was in love with someone back home?
   
   12. Were there points in the novel when you became convinced Mark couldn't survive? What were they, and what made those situations seem so dire?
   
   13. The first time the narrative switched from Mark's log entries to third-person authorial narrative back on Earth, were you surprised? How does alternating between Mark's point of view and the situation on Earth enhance the story?
   
   14. Did you believe the commitment of those on Earth to rescuing one astronaut? What convinced you most?
   
   15. To what extent do you think guilt played a part in the crew's choice to go back to Mark? To what extent loyalty? How would you explain the difference?
   
   16. How does the author handle the passage of time in the book? Did he transition smoothly from a day-to-day account to a span of one and a half years? How does he use the passage of time to build suspense?
   
   17. Unlike other castaways, Mark can approximately predict the timing of his potential rescue. How does that knowledge help him? How could it work against him?
   
   18. When Mark leaves the Hab and ventures out in the rover, did you feel a loss of security for him? In addition to time, the author uses distance to build suspense. Discuss how.
   
   19. Where would you place The Martian in the canon of classic space exploration films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Apollo 13, and Gravity? What does it have in common with these stories? How is it different?
   
   20. A survival story has to resonate on a universal level to be effective, whether it's set on a desert island or another planet. How important are challenges in keeping life vital? To what extent are our everyday lives about problem-solving and maintaining hope?

21. The Martian is an intellectual exercise as much as a novel. It has been described as a “procedural” and “Holmesian.” Does a novel need more of an emotional underpinning to capture readers?

Station Eleven February 2016

February 2016 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, February 11th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our February book, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Story about the “ghost fleet” of ships off Singapore shores

Someone google mapped the locations of the Traveling Symphony

Arthur’s idyllic Delano Island is based on Denman Island in British Columbia where the author grew up

Ten things we wished we’d known before going off the grid

Interview with Prof. Joseph Tainter about sustainability and the collapse of civilizations

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Mar. 10^th        The Martian by Andy Weir (the One Book/One Marin selection)

Thurs. Apr.14^th          The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

1.    1. Now that you’ve read the entire novel, go back and reread the passage by Czeslaw Milosz that serves as an epigraph. What does it mean? Why did Mandel choose it to introduce Station Eleven?

2. Does the novel have a main character? Who would you consider it to be?

3. Arthur Leander dies while performing King Lear, and the Traveling Symphony performs Shakespeare’s works. On page 57, Mandel writes, “Shakespeare was the third born to his parents, but the first to survive infancy. Four of his siblings died young. His son, Hamnet, died at eleven and left behind a twin. Plague closed the theaters again and again, death flickering over the landscape.” How do Shakespearean motifs coincide with those of Station Eleven, both the novel and the comic?

4. Arthur’s death happens to coincide with the arrival of the Georgia Flu. If Jeevan had been able to save him, it wouldn’t have prevented the apocalypse. But how might the trajectory of the novel been different?

5. What is the metaphor of the Station Eleven comic books? How does the Undersea connect to the events of the novel?

6. “Survival is insufficient,” a line from Star Trek: Voyager, is the Traveling Symphony’s motto. What does it mean to them?

7. The prophet discusses death: “I’m not speaking of the tedious variations on physical death. There’s the death of the body, and there’s the death of the soul. I saw my mother die twice.” Knowing who his mother was, what do you think he meant by that?

8. Certain items turn up again and again, for instance the comic books and the paperweight—things Arthur gave away before he died, because he didn’t want any more possessions. And Clark’s Museum of Civilization turns what we think of as mundane belongings into totems worthy of study. What point is Mandel making?

9. On a related note, some characters—like Clark—believe in preserving and teaching about the time before the flu. But in Kirsten’s interview with François Diallo, we learn that there are entire towns that prefer not to: “We went to a place once where the children didn’t know the world had ever been different . . . ”. What are the benefits of remembering, and of not remembering?

10. What do you think happened during the year Kirsten can’t remember?

11. In a letter to his childhood friend, Arthur writes that he’s been thinking about a quote from Yeats, “Love is like the lion’s tooth.”. What does this mean, and why is he thinking about it?

12. How does the impending publication of those letters affect Arthur?

13. Arthur remembers Miranda saying “I regret nothing,” and uses that to deepen his understanding of Lear, “a man who regrets everything,” as well as his own life. How do his regrets fit into the larger scope of the novel? Other than Miranda, are there other characters that refuse to regret?

14. Throughout the novel, those who were alive during the time before the flu remember specific things about those days: the ease of electricity, the taste of an orange. In their place, what do you think you’d remember most?

15. What do you imagine the Traveling Symphony will find when they reach the brightly lit town to the south?

16. The novel ends with Clark, remembering the dinner party and imagining that somewhere in the world, ships are sailing. Why did Mandel choose to end the novel with him?

Lovers at the Chameleon Club January 2016

January 2016 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, January 14th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our January book, Lovers at the Chameleon Club: Paris 1932 by Francine Prose.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Video interview with author, Francine Prose

Article discussing the book with terrific links for additional information

Brassaï biography with some of his Paris photographs

Henry Miller in Paris with Brassaï

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Feb. 11^th        Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Thurs. Mar. 10^th        The Martian by Andy Weir (the One Book/One Marin selection)

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932

1. The story of Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 centers around Lou Villars. Who is she? What do we learn about her as the novel progresses? What three adjectives would you use to describe her?

2. The novel is told in the voices of the various contemporaries of Lou. How does this method of narration add to the drama and depth of the story? Do you trust one viewpoint more than another? Did you like one narrator more than another?

3. There is another voice in the novel that is not part of Lou's circle—or even of the time—Nathalie Dunois. What does her voice add to the story? When you learn about Nathalie later in the book, how does it affect your understanding of Lou? What is Francine Prose trying to convey to us about the nature of narrative truth? Can we trust any of the characters in the book? Can we ever trust personal narrative—whether in fiction or nonfiction? What are the implications for our understanding of these characters—especially Lou?

4. Discuss Lou's circle—the photographer Gabor Tsenyi, his girlfriend Suzanne Dunois, Baroness Lily de Rossignol, the Chameleon Club's manager, Yvonne Nagy, the American journalist Lionel Maine, German racer Inge Wallser, and even the collaborator Jean-Claude Bonnet. What impact did they have on Lou's life and outlook? Describe a few of them as individuals and their relationships with each other. What do they each think of Lou? What do Lou's subsequent actions hold for each of their lives? Choose one character and tell the story from his or her viewpoint.

5. What precipitated Lou's actions before and during the war? Was it spurned love, lost opportunity, or something more? Think about her character. Might Lou have acted the same way even if circumstances were different? How much influence did the Nazis have over her? Think about her childhood. How did the circumstances of her youth shape her? What about notions of nationalism and cultural chauvinism? Did they color who she was? Do you think she ever really considered the consequences of her choices?

6. Talk about the Chameleon Club. What purpose does it serve in the novel? Who were its patrons and what drew them there? What about Lou? How were places like the Chameleon Club indicative of their time?

7. Discuss the Paris that is recreated in the pages of the novel. How is the city itself a character? What is intriguing about Lou Villar's Paris? Would you have liked to visit this Paris? Can you feel the winds of change shifting in the novel? How does Francine Prose create mood and atmosphere? How do both add to the story as it unfolds?

8. In her biography of Lou, Nathalie writes, "Not only does creative work mine the rich veins of the unconscious, it also has an uncanny ability to obtain what the artist needs, from the world." How does creative work "mine the rich vein of the unconscious"? How does it have "an uncanny ability to obtain what the artist needs, from the world'? Use examples from this work or another to explain your understanding of Nathalie's words.

9. What is the role of art in the novel? How is it used to elevate the spirit and how can it be used for evil? Think about the period. How did the Nazis use art to promote their cause?

10. Would Lou feel at home with the political atmosphere today—the divisions between left and right, the anger over immigration, the "takers" and the "makers"? How does Lou's world compare to today? Use examples from the story to illustrate your ideas.

11. Late in the novel, the Baroness confides, "During the Occupation we learned to live with fear and humiliation, anger and insults, the witnessing of horrific scenes one could hardly believe were real." How did their lives and their art change as the political situation shifted —as their feelings of freedom turned to terror as fascism took hold?

12. At the end of the novel, well after the war, we learn that Lionel Maine is obsessed with the end of the movie Carrie, from Stephen King's horror novel. Why do you think that final scene—of the dead Carrie's arm punching through the ground where she is buried—affects him so much?

13. What are your impressions of Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932? Did it meet your expectations? What made your group choose to read the novel? What did you take away from your reading? If you've read other stories that bring to life this period and place, how do they compare to Lovers at the Chameleon Club?

14. What is the significance of Pablo Picasso’s story of the artist in Malaysia who learns he is living with cannibals when he goes on to describe French culture? “The French are cannibals. Those Malays or whoever have nothing on the French. .. Picasso said that he and I, an American and a Spaniard, were the same to the French. They would eat us when they get hungry…

Outline December 2015

December 2015 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, December 10th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our December book, Outline by Rachel Cusk.

Discussion questions  are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Essay by Rachel Cusk published in McLean’s

Interview with Rachel Cusk about her books and recent play, Medea

A video conversation with Rachel Cusk

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Jan. 14^th        Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 by Francine Prose

Thurs. Feb. 11^th        Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Thurs. Mar. 10^th        The Martian by Andy Weir (the One Book/One Marin selection)

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Outline by Rachel Cusk

1. What do we learn about the almost anonymous narrator, Faye, throughout the book?

2. Each character speaking to Faye discusses their relationships. How do the characters feel about their relationships? Do these revelations tell us anything about Faye’s relationships?

3. How does the author describe success vs failure through the conversations in the book?

4. Is this a feminist novel?

5. The New Yorker review says the romantic relationships described by the characters Faye talks to “diminish” the parties. The Guardian review says Cusk writes, “a cool-headed meditation on the doomed nature of relationships.” Do you agree with these assessments? Can you find examples in the book?

6. The narrator, Faye, can’t explain why her marriage ended, saying, “among other things a marriage is a system of belief, a story, and though it manifests itself in things that are real enough, the impulse that drives it is ultimately mysterious.” How would you reply to her? Consider her musings on the realities behind her airplane seatmate’s description of the failure of his marriages.

7. Faye tells her neighbor (p. 170), “I had come to believe more and more in the virtues of passivity, and of living a life as unmarked by self-will as possible. … I had decided to want nothing at all.” Does Outline reflect her passivity? Is it possible to live a life passively?

8. What is the significance of the broken glass ceiling panel told by Penelope in Faye’s writing class?

9. Melete describes a former student who appears at all of her readings and makes faces. She calls his behavior “madness” Do you agree? Could there be another reason?

10. In Chapter 9, the students discuss their animal stories and other stories from their lives. Do any of their stories stand out to you?

Consquences November 2015

November 2015 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet tomorrow, Thursday, November 12th at 7 p.m. to discuss our November book Consequences by Penelope Lively.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Penelope Lively’s website

Fresh Air interview with Penelope Lively

BBC radio Interview with Penelope Lively about Consequences (recommended)

Rachel Reckitt was Penelope Lively’s aunt and a famous wood engraver. You can see some images of her work here.

The Lit & Phil Private Library history

Coming up, we have the following book to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Dec  10          Outline by Rachel Cusk

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Consequences by Penelope Lively

1. Over the course of the novel, there is a lot of movement into and out of London. Discuss the circumstances that cause each of the following characters to make this move: the Bradleys; Matt and Lorna; Molly; the unnamed masses of women and children.

2. The houses in this novel serve as metaphors, both with regard to their inhabitants and to the greater themes of the novel. What do you think the author meant to convey through her use of the Brunswick Gardens home, the Somerset cottage, and the Fulham house?

3. On page 102, Molly wonders if she will turn out like her pragmatic but dispassionate roommate, Glenda, or “the other sort,” the kind of reckless-in-love woman she imagines her mother to have been. What type of woman does she become? How is the foundation for her adult self laid by the experiences of her youth? What do you think influences our development more: family upbringing or the times in which we live?

4. Though the focus remains on the maverick Faraday women, how does Simon’s relationship with his partner, Tim, reflect the relationships of the women in his family? Why do you think the author chose to write Simon as a gay man?

5. Molly is surprised and admiring of Sam’s “split personality”—that he balances his mental work as a poet with the more hands-on work as a mechanic. Later, Ruth compares her “think-work” as a journalist to Sam’s. What comment do you think this novel makes on the nature of art as work and work as art? How have views about what constitutes “real work” changed throughout the twentieth century, according to the novel?

6. The characters of this novel seek to define and redefine themselves in relation to each other, particularly through the vehicle of love. Discuss the different meetings and love relationships between these characters: Matt and Lorna; Lucas and Lorna; Molly and James; Molly and Sam; Ruth and Peter; and Ruth and Brian.

7. Molly and Sam meet at a poetry festival that concludes with a panel discussion of the diminished role of the poet/artist in politics. Later, Ruth and her Cretan guide, Manolo, observe that most words written are “about sheep and oxen,” only concerned with the practical aspects of daily life and survival. How does literature and art affect your own worldview? Do you think art has the power, and even an obligation, to engage in public discourse? Why or why not?

8. What incidents prompt Lorna, Molly, and Ruth to each consider the intricate ways in which past, present, and future double back on themselves and on each other?

9. On page 257, Ruth and Brian discuss “Sleeping Beauty,” “Rip Van Winkle,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and other stories as comments on the struggle to defeat space and time. Do you think Consequences falls into the same category? Why or why not? Use examples from the book to support your opinion.

10. Penelope Lively takes you on a journey through several decades of major social and cultural upheaval—though the story takes place in England, a nearly parallel set of events were transforming American culture. Using the characters as examples, describe how views on issues such as education of women, social strata, career choices and progression, marriage, and sex have changed throughout the twentieth century.

11. Why do you think the author chose “Consequences” as the title of this novel?

Someone October 2015

October 2015 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet tomorrow, Thursday, October 8th at 7 p.m. to discuss our October book Someone by Alice McDermott.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

PBS Interview with Alice McDermott discussing Someone

Photos of 1930’s Brooklyn – “flickriver” and Berenice Abbot photos

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Nov. 12          Consequences by Penelope Lively

Thurs. Dec  10          Outline by Rachel Cusk

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

Beth Bailey-Gates

Friends of the Fairfax Library

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Someone by Alice McDermott

1. Is the world of Someone familiar to you? Did it provoke rich recognition in you?

2. What do you think of Marie? What didn’t she tell us? Is she really as willful and bold as she describes herself to be?

3. Does Marie have faith or hope? Others in her life certainly do. Does she?

4. There are some troubled relationships between parents and children in this community. How are the children affected by their parents? What are the most troubling parent-children bonds? And the most favorable ones?

5. Compare Walter Hartnett with Tom Commeford. Is Marie better off with Tom as her husband? Why or why not?

6. What does Marie find attractive in Walter? And does her impression of Walter change over time?

7. What does Marie learn while working at Fagin’s funeral parlor?

8. Why does Marie describe old age as being on a “high, precarious ledge”?

9. Many of the characters suffer from blindness or vision problems. What does this mean in the world of the novel?

10. Many characters also suffer from alcoholism. What role does alcohol addiction play here?

11. Why doesn’t Marie want to learn to cook, despite her mother’s constant efforts to teach her?

12. The term “amadan” is a refrain throughout the novel. Besides Pegeen Chehab, who are the fools in the novel?

13. Describe Marie’s relationship with her brother, Gabe. Does it change over the course of her life?

14. We never know for sure why Gabe leaves the priesthood. What do you think is the reason?

15. Why does the memory of Pegeen resonate so profoundly for Marie? Is there a similar story from your youth that has had a lasting effect on your life?

16. What does Marie’s mother try to teach her about becoming a fulfilled woman? What exceptional qualities does Marie’s father possess? How does their marriage shape Marie’s vision of her future?

17. Discuss the novel’s Brooklyn neighborhood as if it were a character. What are its most colorful attributes? How is it transformed over the years while Marie grows up? Do its inhabitants support one another, or is their gossip judgmental? Think about their speculation over the gender of Dora Ryan’s spouse and Bill Corrigan’s frailties.

18. Why does Marie resist her mother’s attempts to urge her to adulthood, from how to read a recipe to the importance of finding a job?

19. How is Marie able to look past the tragic death of Mrs. Hanson and focus on the loveliness of Gerty and her baby sister, Durna? Throughout her life, what beauty does Marie find in mothering?

20. What is the role of fate versus free will in Someone? What did Gabe seek and find in religion? What truths about faith did he eventually learn to embrace?

21. What did Walter Hartnett ultimately get out of his time with Marie? Was she naïve to fall for him, or was he powerfully persuasive? What made Tom Commeford a good match for her?

22. What does Marie discover about life by working for Mr. Fagin?

23. Discuss the story of Margaret Tuohy. How was Marie affected by the bishop’s choice of elegant burial clothes for his sister? What did the experience show Marie about the role of the survivor?

24. As Gabe tells the story of the woman at his first parish who bought mints before attending church each week, what is revealed about the importance of avoiding assumptions? How do perceptions and misperceptions shape the novel’s storyline?

25. What is the effect of the novel’s first-person narration? As Marie narrates her life, what changes do you notice in her view of the world—literal ones, as she endures eye surgeries, and symbolic ones?

26. Discuss Marie’s relationship with her own children. What does she do differently from her parents? What traditions does she carry on? How does McDermott capture the revelations that life and loss bring?

27. How does the depiction of Irish identity and family life in Someone compare to that in similar worlds you’ve explored in other novels by Alice McDermott?