Book Club Discussion Questions: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
- Elise
- May 21
- 5 min read
For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we're publishing this months' discussion questions here. All previous book club selections have been posted, complete with summary, discussion questions and, when necessary or appropriate, additional resources to better understand the topic or context. Here are the questions from our current title, Shark Heart. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Shark Heart
by Emily Habeck
Summary:
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
A USA TODAY Bestseller
A Booklist Editor’s Choice
A Goodreads Choice Award Nominee
A Massachusetts Book Awards Fiction Honors Selection
Shortlisted for the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize
A “beautifully written” (Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of All the Light We Cannot See) debut novel of marriage, motherhood, metamorphosis, and letting go, this intergenerational love story begins with newlyweds Wren and her husband, Lewis—a man who, over the course of nine months, transforms into a great white shark.
For Lewis and Wren, their first year of marriage is also their last. A few weeks after their wedding, Lewis receives a rare diagnosis. He will retain most of his consciousness, memories, and intellect, but his physical body will gradually turn into a great white shark. As Lewis develops the features and impulses of one of the most predatory creatures in the ocean, his complicated artist’s heart struggles to make peace with his unfulfilled dreams.
At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds. Woven throughout this “heart-wringing” (Adam Roberts, internationally bestselling author of Salt) novel is the story of Wren’s mother, Angela, who becomes pregnant with Wren at fifteen in an abusive relationship amidst her parents’ crumbling marriage. In the present, all of Wren’s grief eventually collides, and she is forced to make an impossible choice.
A sweeping love story that is at once lyrical and funny, airy and visceral, Shark Heart is an unforgettable, gorgeous novel about life’s perennial questions, the fragility of memories, finding joy amidst grief, and creating a meaningful life. This daring debut marks the arrival of a wildly talented new writer abounding with originality, humor, and heart. -- Publisher Description
Discussion Questions
Original, slightly more big-picture questions
This story is written in small snippets, little vignettes, and momentary scenes for the most part.
How did this work for you?
Did it keep you immersed or just shoot you from moment to moment? Were you able to follow or was it confusing?
So many aspects to how this could have affected you. Discuss.
Because of how short all of the sections were, it seemed like they got to the meat of the story quite quickly. What was your initial take on Lewis’s transformation? How did you feel by the end of Part 1: Did it change how you feel? Did the author explain the situation enough? Too much? Not nearly enough?
Discuss the final twist/transformation and parallels within the story. Did you see it coming? Who’s do you think it is? Does it matter?
What do you think of the concept of animal-mutation-based dementias? Why do you think the author used this as her delivery mechanism for change?
An underlying current is that of loss, transformation, and hidden strengths. Discuss.
What were your thoughts on the idea that occasionally there are entire moments written as scenes from a play?
Discuss the role “The Pregnant Woman” had in the story.
Discuss the importance of dedicating an entire segment of the book to Angela.
What about the role of George or the other side characters?
Why do you think the friendship between Julia and Angela soured? Do you think it was avoidable?
How well do you think Habeck pulled off the dementia elements of the story? Were they believable?
Did you believe the psychology Habeck employed for the animal behaviors and understandings?
Habeck says the shifting styles have always been a part of the book. She states that part of it was intention (scripted scenes allow characters to be a bit untethered from their reality and poetry giving the reader some breathing room), part of it was her thought process, time, and goals disconnected from a word count. How does this constant shifting current of story affect your understanding of both the story and the author?
Official Questions:
Simon & Schuster
Why do you think the author chose to give Lewis a fictional condition instead of a real one?
Wren and Lewis are quite different from each other, yet they love each other deeply. Have you ever been close to someone who sees the world differently? What are the gifts and challenges of these types of relationships?
As Lewis gradually becomes a great white shark, how do his personality changes strain his work and marriage? Beyond the world of the book, how do the ways people naturally change over time challenge or enhance relationships?
At Lewis’s “send off,” the partygoers “discovered the same private truth: Lewis and Wren’s situation made them feel better about themselves” (page 136). What do you think this statement says about humanity’s general attitude toward suffering?
Lewis realizes that “joy and grief are human birthrights, but mostly, being alive is everything in between” (page 152). Do you agree? Why or why not?
At the ocean, Lewis tries to explain his transformation: “It’s like standing in my childhood bedroom. . . . There are things I cannot unsee” (page 158). What do you think Lewis cannot unsee? What places in your life remind you of how much you’ve grown?
George always loves Angela, never wavering in feeling that she was the love of his life, even though they are not together. What do you think about his unrequited love from afar? What is the hardest part about loving someone who is still alive but no longer in your life?
Why might Angela have taught Wren to ask herself the question: “What do I need?” What does this question provide Wren? Are there questions like this that you ask yourself? If so, how do they help you?
Angela feels like her body has betrayed her. Have you ever felt this way? And conversely, when do you feel that your physical body is a source of strength or protection?
How did Angela’s condition prepare Wren to take care of Lewis? Was Wren’s prior caretaking experience ever an impediment during her time with Lewis?
In his transformation from man to great white shark, Lewis became much more cynical, which contrasts Margaret C. Finnegan’s unyielding optimism. How do these attitudes reflect the differing ways in which people adapt to change and hardship?
Why do you think Lewis and Angela have the same dream about being the stem of a pear? What do you think the dream means in each of their contexts?
The author uses a unique writing style, blending prose, poetry, and playwriting. Why do you think she chose these styles? In sections with sparsely written pages, what does the empty space evoke?
What do the transformations in Shark Heart say about the connection between humans and animals?
Simon & Schuster – Enhance Your Book Club Questions
Share a time you felt a personal connection to an animal. Or, if you could become any animal for a day, what would it be?
Upon his release, Lewis ruminates about his regrets. Create a list of things, big or small, that you do not want to take for granted or leave unfulfilled. Reflect on why these things matter to you and how you might pursue them.
Read Our Town by Thornton Wilder as a companion to Shark Heart and discuss parallels between the novel and the play.
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