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. We are closer than you think to accomplishing it. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from our current title, The Thing About December. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
The Thing About December
by Donal Ryan
Summary:
‘He heard Daddy one time saying he was a grand quiet boy to Mother when he thought Johnsey couldn’t hear them talking. Mother must have been giving out about him being a gom and Daddy was defending him. He heard the fondness in Daddy’s voice. But you’d have fondness for an auld eejit of a crossbred pup that should have been drowned at birth.’
While the Celtic Tiger rages, and greed becomes the norm, Johnsey Cunliffe desperately tries to hold on to the familiar, even as he loses those who all his life have protected him from a harsh world. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns.
Set over the course of one year of Johnsey’s life, The Thing About December breathes with his grief, bewilderment, humour and agonizing self-doubt. This is a heart-twisting tale of a lonely man struggling to make sense of a world moving faster than he is.
Donal Ryan’s award-winning debut, The Spinning Heart, garnered unprecedented acclaim, and The Thing About December confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation. -- Publisher Description
Discussion Questions
Official Questions
What is the significance of the title? Did you find it meaningful, why or why not?
How would the book have played out differently in a different time period or setting?
Were there any quotes (or passages) that stood out to you? Why?
Are there any books that you would compare this book to?
Would you recommend the book to a friend? How would you summarize the story if you were to recommend it?
Sometimes the language is fairly colloquial. How was your understanding of these passages? Were there any that stood out or that piqued your interest?
This is a book told through the deft development of its characters. Which characters stood out from the rest?
Was there a character that you disagreed with how they were developed? In what way?
Ireland was in an unprecedented state of mass economic growth in the mid ‘90s to late 2000s (often referred to as the Celtic Tiger) followed by a significant downturn that lasted for several years, when this book took place. How do you see this affecting the characters? Did you? How important was placing these characters in the midst of this time period?
Did your opinion of this book change as you read it? How so?
What about the main character? Did your opinion change about him? His situation?
Which moment of character development prompted the strongest emotional reaction for you? Why?
There is a decent amount of loss, loss of loved ones, of innocence, of stability, etc. Discuss some of the ways in which this plays out.
Were there times you disagreed with a character’s actions? What would you have done differently?
What scene would you point out as the pivotal moment in the narrative? How did it make you feel?
Sorrow and depression can sometimes be beautiful. In what ways do you see unexpected beauty in this story?
What were some questions you still had?
Comments