ICE Breakers
EAST OF EDEN
BOOK OF THE MOMENT
‘East of Eden’ has plenty of themes worth exploring in your book club; good vs evil, family rejection and favouritism, love and the mystery of identity. But which one struck you the most and seems most relevant today?
Which brothers did you feel empathy with, if any?
Florence Pugh claims to have fallen in “love” with Cathy, and wants to “breathe some life” into this supposed villain. What did you and your book club think of Cathy?
Steinbeck describes Cathy as an indecipherable character. How do you think Netflix will present Cathy - and can we rationalise or make valid arguments for her behaviour?
John Steinbeck appears as Olive Hamilton’s son and grandson of Sam Hamilton. This blurring of fiction with his own personal history adds a grounding to the biblical references that are made by the author. Does this make the novel more appealing? Do you think Sam Hamilton is a credible character?
Did the biblical echoes (Cain and Abel, timshel) add depth for you, or feel heavy-handed? And what did you think of Lee as the novel's philosopher — did his perspective resonate, or did he feel more like a mouthpiece for Steinbeck's ideas?
Have you seen any other adaptation of 'East of Eden' and how does this novel live up to the author's own hopes of writing a 'masterpiece'?
DRACULA
MISSED OPPORTUNITY
How did you find the different characters and could you relate to them?
If this is a genre you don’t normally read, how did you find this novel?
Do you think it is important to read this book to appreciate it aside from pre-conceptions we may have of ‘Dracula’ from films/plays etc?
How does Bram Stoker tackle the themes of love, religion and science in the novel?
Do you think Mina is the heroine of the story? Can her Christian faith destroy evil?
Originally published in 1897, how well do you think this novel has stood the test of time?
The novel takes the form of diary entries and letters. How did you find this style of writing and what impact does it have?
THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
What did you and your group think of this novel as a spy story? What do you think Le Carré was trying to tell us about the Cold War and the role of spies at this time?
Recently adapted for the stage, the play was described as “brilliantly entertaining - an edge-of-your-seat thriller”. What aspects of Leamas and the cast of double-agents made this story appealing and relevant today? And if you got the chance to see the play how did the book compare?
Do you think Leamas ever managed to escape the Cold War and do you think it is possible to retire from the spy world?
Leamas had to live in a squalid apartment and take on the persona of an alcoholic in order to fulfil his brief. Do you think this was typical of undercover spies and how much do you think Le Carré was able to draw from his own experience as an intelligence officer?
Did you think it was it inevitable that Liz would have to face Leamas in Berlin and to what extent did you trust her in the story?
Is it possible for spies to have relationships outside their spy world? And what extent do you think Leamas’s persona matched Le Carré’s?
Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou concurred that John le Carré (real name David Cornwell) successfully captured the psychological reality, bureaucracy, and moral grey areas of actual Cold War intelligence work rather than Hollywood fantasies. With more access to the modern day spy through leaks and defectors what qualities makes someone a good spy today and do you think you could spot one?
THE WILD CARD