ICE Breakers
OUR FRIENDS IN BERLIN
Book Of The MOMENT
How long did it take you to identify the double agents?
Who was your favourite character and why?
To what extent did Quinn romanticise the dangers of London life in the 1940s?
What do you think he was trying to achieve?
What other novels or films did this remind you of?
What was your favourite plot twist and why? What surprised you?
Could there be a follow up and do you this could translate on screen?
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AMERICANAH
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
Ifemuala is a strong-willed, feisty character. Were you surprised at how hard she initially found it to make her way in America?
Aunt Uju sees it as paramount to conform in America. Ifemula is less convinced. Do you think Aunt Uju’s choice has a detrimental affect on Dike?
How did it make you feel that Obinze could be cleaning toilets in England, but be a property magnate in Lagos?
Hair is an important cultural symbol of race. Is this something you have to think about or if not, were you aware of it and the implications of having the right hair?
Why do you think Obinze is able to marry and settle down and Ifemula isn’t?
Do you think Ifemula is better off when she returns for being an Americanah or do you think she has lost touch with her roots to a certain degree and consequently changed?
Did this novel open your eyes to the intricacies of race, even the differences between race in America compared to England?
Why do you think Adichie allows both her main characters to return to their homeland, even though Ifemula could have stayed in America?
MILKMAN
THE WILD CARD
The book is reminiscent of a stream of consciousness with the author repeating each phrase in several different ways – did you find this kind of writing powerful and was it is easy to read?
Did you appreciate the dark humour and the macabre references throughout the novel?
Anna Burns's writing has been compared to Beckett? Do you agree? Did you like it?
Do you have any memories personal or passed down in the family of the Troubles and what other recent 'war' does it remind you of?
The young girl tries her hardest to avoid the political situation going on around her. Do you think this is true of young people today?
Was this a marmite read amongst your group?
The author has said that the repressive society and political situation she describes has much relevance to today referencing Brexit, discussion of borders and other repressive societies – would you agree? And how has our experience of lockdown affected your reading of the novel?