Over the past few months I’ve been really pleased to receive messages from individuals and book groups who have read and enjoyed Glasshopper. Several asked for a Glasshopper Book Group Guide, which is now available to help reading groups kick-start their discussions. The list of questions is wide and varied, so just select the ones you think your group will be most interested in. I hope you enjoy discussing the book!
“A moving novel told from two points of view: 13-year-old Jake in the mid-1980s, who’s trying to deal with his mother Mary’s alcoholism, his parents’ split and growing pains; and Mary herself, going off the rails from the 1960s to the present. An immaculately written novel with plenty of dark family secrets and gentle wit within. Recommended for book groups.” Waterstone’s Books Quarterly
Book Group Guide:
Having read the novel do you find yourself more attached to either Jake or Mary?
What makes the family in Glasshopper dysfunctional?
Does the novel attempt to attribute blame for their troubles?
Does it suggest causes underlying Mary’s alcoholism?
How convincing did you find Jake’s voice, and how is his character built up in the early chapters of the novel?
Does the novel tell us anything about the experience of children with alcoholic parents?
What does Glasshopper say, if anything, about good or bad parenting, and motherhood in particular?
How representative is Mary’s experience, given her gender and generation?
Do you feel sympathetic towards Mary as a character?
How does the narrative structure of the novel influence our assessment of Mary’s behaviour?
What is gained by having both Jake and Mary narrate their stories, and what limitations does this present?
Is Bill a good father?
What images or symbols are associated with Mary, and how do they give us an insight into her character?
Beyond alcohol, how does Mary escape the constraints of her past and her present life?
How does the behaviour and moral code of one generation impact another in the book?
What kind of character is Gypsy – is she sympathetic? How does her behaviour also reveal Bill, Stu and Mary’s characters?
Does our impression of Rachel change as the novel progresses?
What does Matt – and his absence – add to the story?
How much does the story depend on things or events we aren’t shown?
Are there any turning points in how we see Bill as the story progresses?
Could the novel be described as a portrait of a marriage?
How important are the time shifts within the novel?
How does the author use different locations in the novel?
How does the shift in location to the Dordogne change the atmosphere of the end of the novel?
How does Bill react to the news of the accident, and how is this reflective of his character?
How does Jake deal with what happens in the Dordogne, and his father’s reaction to events?
Could the family have survived Mary’s alcoholism had the novel ended differently?
Is the novel judgmental or prescriptive in its depiction of alcoholism?
What is it that unbalances the family – could it be secrecy? Addiction? Betrayal?
For detailed reviews, please click here.
To buy Glasshopper, click here.
