ICE Breakers
JOHN OF JOHN
BOOK OF THE MOMENT
Why do you think Cal stayed when he discovered his father had dishonestly persuaded him to come back to the island?
Can you imagine Cal ever being able to leave the Island again?
Do you think it was John senior’s religious beliefs which kept him from hiding his true feelings, or was it more than that?
Why do you think Innes waits so long for John and is not embarrassed by his feelings for John although he too is a local islander?
Why do you think Cal is unaware of his father’s secret relationship with Innes?
Were you surprised at Ella’s revelation or do you think John senior and Cal probably knew she could understand their conversations?
'Shuggie Bain' is about a mother/son relationship. How did you this compare to the father/son relationship in this novel?
How important is the setting and Stuart’s descriptions of life on Harris to the story?
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The original title for this novel was 'First Impressions'? Do you think 'Pride and Prejudice' is a better title? And how does it relate to Elizabeth and Darcy?
Dolly Alderton, executive producer and screenwriter explained “Every time I re-read 'Pride and Prejudice' in different stages of womanhood, I have different reads of the female characters". Did your book club agree with this view? And why are we attracted to Elizabeth and her mother Mrs Bennet?
Jane Austen claimed this novel, her second, to be ‘rather too light & bright & sparkling’. Do you and your book group agree? Have you read other Austen novels and how does it compare to her other heroines such as Anne Elliot of 'Persuasion', Emma Woodhouse of 'Emma' and Marianne Dashwood of 'Sense and Sensibility' which has also recently screened in cinemas?
Why is Mr Darcy such an iconic hero and why do readers keep coming back to this novel, even after the
original suspense is gone and they know how it ends?
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in the possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife". Did your reading of 'Pride and Prejudice' feel dated and were you still able to admire Elizabeth's outspokeness and her ability to push back at the confines of social convention?
What do you think of Dolly Alderton's involvement in the Netflix series? Is there room for new adaptations and do you have a favourite?
DEATH BY NOIR
Olly Smith is a talented and popular wine expert. Did you enjoy his narrative style, and did his passion and enthusiasm for wine, give him a solid foundation for fiction writing?
It is easy to warm to Barclay Flint, the lead detective in the novel. Which of the supporting characters worked for you, and did any feel too light in substance? And how do they compare with the popular Thursday Murder Club’s Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim?
Do you think an appreciation of wine is required to enjoy this novel? And to what extent did the wine talk overpower the story?
A recent heist of 30,000 bottles from Antinori, Italy’s biggest family owned wine was successfully undertaken this year. Does this suggest wine making, with its high market produce, offers a rich seam of storylines for crime fiction?
Did you guess the culprit? Were the clues fairly planted, and how did the Lewes Bonfire Night setting add to the atmosphere?
How likely are you to read the next Bottle Bank mystery? What would you want more or less of?
And if you could pair one wine with this book, what would it be, and why?
THE WILD CARD