For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from a 2019 title, Rainbirds. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Rainbirds
by Clarissa Goenawan
Summary:
Set in an imagined town outside Tokyo, Clarissa Goenawan’s dark, spellbinding literary debut follows a young man’s path to self-discovery in the wake of his sister’s murder.
Ren Ishida has nearly completed his graduate degree at Keio University when he receives news of his sister’s violent death. Keiko was stabbed one rainy night on her way home, and there are no leads. Ren heads to Akakawa to conclude his sister’s affairs, failing to understand why she chose to turn her back on the family and Tokyo for this desolate place years ago.
But then Ren is offered Keiko’s newly vacant teaching position at a prestigious local cram school and her bizarre former arrangement of free lodging at a wealthy politician’s mansion in exchange for reading to the man’s ailing wife. He accepts both, abandoning Tokyo and his crumbling relationship there in order to better understand his sister’s life and what took place the night of her death.
As Ren comes to know the eccentric local figures, from the enigmatic politician who’s boarding him to his fellow teachers and a rebellious, captivating young female student, he delves into his shared childhood with Keiko and what followed. Haunted in his dreams by a young girl who is desperately trying to tell him something, Ren realizes that Keiko Ishida kept many secrets, even from him.
Discussion Questions
Jazz music seems to be repeatedly brought up throughout the book. What comes to mind when you think of Jazz? Do you agree with Ren Ishida and his sister, Keiko, that “You don’t need to be knowledgeable to appreciate jazz?” In what way does this speak to the broader narrative?
Rainbirds begins with the funeral of Keiko, who has died a violent death and, though it could easily turn into a murder mystery, quickly moves into something else to figure out and then the next. Is there a reason why Goenawan continuously changes the direction of the narrative? What effect does it have on our understanding of the characters?
Rainbirds takes place in Japan with a lot of Japanese customs being in evidence without ever being brought to the forefront. In what way were they similar to US or other countries? In what way were they different? Did anything throw you?
It is clear from near the outset that Ishida lived a relatively cold and dysfunctional, isolated childhood. In what way do you think his childhood impacted his life as of this book? What about his sister’s?
In what way do the flashbacks to the Ishida’s past help to bring his sister to life? How do they help to mythologize her? What does Ren discover about his sister that he didn’t before? Is it relevant?
Throughout the novel, only select characters are always referred to by their actual names. Those characters that are introduced with a pseudonym, even once their names are finally given, continue with those nicknames throughout the book (i.e. “Seven Stars” or “The Kimono Lady”) whether they are important to the action or not. Even his sister, Keiko, is usually referred to as his sister, or “you,” rather than her name, even when he directs a thought straight at her. Why do you think that is? Does it speak to Ishida’s character? How so? What do you think it says about the author?
Why do you think it is so hard for Ishida to reconnect with his girlfriend, Nae, for so long? Did it contribute to the story? Do you think it was in any way connected to his repeated reference to his childhood? What about the argument? Ruse or plot device?
What did you take away from the repeated mention of the girl with the pig tails? In several places he reinvents her origin and who he believes her to be. Was he simply using her as a stand in? She often seems to be leading him to places in his dreams that he needs to go. What do you make of this? Did you ever agree with him as to who she was?
Do you believe in hauntings? Where does the subconscious come into play? Does it?
What about dreams? Did Ishida’s dreams lead him anywhere significant? Was it simply part of the healing process?
Rain and water imagery are near constant. Rain, fear of water, hair clogging drain, suicide in a tub, wet pavement, open windows during storms… What do you take the water imagery to represent? In what way do you see it as furthering the atmosphere or plot?
At one point of the book, Keiko talks about a classmate who committed suicide. She describes the idea of suicide as courageous. She talks about how you have to cut deep to die of massive blood loss. It comes up a few times. Why do you think this is? What other types of death exist within the story other than the literal?
What do you make of the relationship between Mrs. Katou and Mrs. Katsuragi, aka the kimono lady? What about their handling of grief?
Several of the characters seem to exhibit signs of commitment phobia. Do you think the author was trying to say something about this? Is it related to culture, character, or do you think that it simply made it easier to write characters when they have no serious attachments?
It often seems purposeful that the author chose the English language to be a shared interest by three of the main characters, especially when it came to choosing books and overlaying them with issues. In what way was Ren’s choosing Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid both a foretelling and a reflection of the past? What about his choosing Wuthering Heights to confront Mrs. Katou about her daughter and try to get her to forgive herself?
Discussion of advantageous vs disadvantageous marriages crops up a couple of times, and is generally known to be a well-established part of business culture in Japan. In what way does this shape our understanding of the characters and expectations of future actions? What does it say about their various value systems?
What do you think the memory of the joy ride gave to the story?
What do you think of the relationship between Mr. Ishida and Seven Stars? How does it develop? Is it appropriate, healthy or unhealthy?
The differing expressions of grief and its states play heavily throughout the book. What imagery was particularly successful in showing emotions even when not overtly discussed?
What was your opinion on the burning of his sister’s things? Was it helpful? Was it simply his getting rid of useless sentimental stuff or did it serve a purpose in his grief?
Where did you think the narrative was heading? Did anything surprise you? Was there anything you would have liked to see in the book but didn’t?
What really stood out to you? Was there any particular imagery or style issues you think important? Any cultural elements you didn’t understand or elements you chalked up to culture because you didn’t see where else it would fall? Was there anything that still didn’t make sense or that made more sense than you thought later on?
Final thoughts?
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