These reflections about the passing of time, the way that a life is reckoned, come in the context of our discussion about messuds latest novel, the woman upstairs, which has prompted, in. This is a time for us to have a short break from our husbands, kids, grandkids, pets, and all responsibilitiessome me time to have enjoyable discussions about the book weve read as a group. If youre ready to start a book club, heres 40 of the best book club questions, for fiction. Shes the woman upstairs, whose feet you hear treading youd be lost without her shes the shoulder you cry on when the father of your children disappears. Ive found that the best book club discussion questions are ones that are openended and that get people to share their personal opinions.
In what ways can the woman upstairs be read as a feminist novel. In the woman upstairs, nora eldridge, a middleaged elementary school teacher, confesses her profound rage in a threepart story. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. May 16, 20 claire messuds the woman upstairs is about a lonely thirdgrade teacher who falls in love with the family of one of her students. Reading guide for the woman upstairs by claire messud. I checked out this book after looking through a booklist with listed books centered around betrayal and obsession.
What was mine book by helen klein ross official publisher. Catherine lowells the mad woman upstairs was my book clubs pick for august. The woman upstairs by claire messud claire messuds new novel, the woman upstairs, delves into the inner life of the quiet, friendly and secretly furious woman upstairs, a. Read her exclusive piece about the woman upstairs at. I wanted so desperately for nora our woman upstairs, a tidy allegory of the modern spinster to gain some positive forward motion in her life, to find purpose, hope and lightness in her endless self.
In a publishers weekly interview, messud was asked about nora, her dutiful but ragefilled, 40something. I may be biased, but moms book nook is the best online moms book club youll find. We meet in a private facebook group and chat about a new book every month. The participants guide for the woman upstairs provides a summary of the book, several questions to consider while reading, a bit about the author, and several suggestions for further reading. In the woman upstairs, nora eldridge, a middleaged elementary school teacher, confesses her profound rage in a. The woman upstairs by tracie padal summary spoiler alert. The woman upstairs by claire messud claire messuds new novel, the woman upstairs, delves into the inner life of the quiet, friendly and secretly furious woman upstairs, a frustrated artist named nora who becomes obsessed with a glamorous immigrant family. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions that will. The woman upstairs, messuds narrator suggests, is not to be confused with the proverbial madwoman in the attic who haunted jane eyre and became a symbol of feminist literary criticism. May 09, 20 what can i say, this was a strangely infuriating book.
We announce the book selection on the first monday of the month and discuss on the last monday of the month at. Discuss how that theme relates to the three main characters. Nora eldridge, an elementary school teacher in cambridge, massachusetts, long ago compromised her dream to be a successful artist, mother and lover. What can i say, this was a strangely infuriating book. Sep 05, 2016 even if you do have a reading guide, these questions will still help engage your book club members and provide great conversation starters. Unfortunately, this woman upstairs quality also tends to create a twodimensional figure to others, a woman easily dismissed and placed in a mold, or a binconventionally boring, predictable, and reliably bland. Shes by your side when you discover his guilty secrets. From the synopsis the reader comes to the book expecting her to experience some kind of betrayal. Nora eldridge doesnt make life easy for herself and she taxed my patience at times with her extended bouts of selfpity and pessimism. The woman upstairs, originally titled as your guilty lies did indeed grip me and keep me engaged till the end with twists and turns, but i must say i am in two minds about this book. Npr messud knows how to make fiction out of the clash of civilizations. How do these words set up expectations for the reader.
Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Not only is she shallow, entitled, unknowingly racist, and a bad mother, but she has not progressed one millimeter since high school, and. What does nora mean when she describes herself as the woman upstairs. Hopefully, this material will help you guide the discussion. Dont be fooled by the opening chapters of claire messuds new novel, in which nora eldridge blazes forth with furious intensity, her words spitting and sparking off the page as she describes who she is, what she is, and why shes so damned angry. Nora equates the woman upstairs with mediocrity, and mediocrity implies a lack of adventure, a lack of success, and a lack of passion. This is a group for women over 40 who are interested in meeting and discussing a book of the month. Because we had read jane eyre several months ago and because we were looking for something light to read for summer, we decided that a fictional book about the last surviving descendant of the bronte family sounded like a good choice. This section, for book group leaders, provides answers to those questions. The woman upstairs by claire messud claire messuds new novel, the woman upstairs, delves into the inner life of the quiet, friendly. The introduction, discussion questions and suggested further reading that follow are designed to enhance your groups discussion of bestselling author claire messuds brilliant new novel, the woman upstairs. Jan 22, 2014 the woman upstairs has a very different feel. From the new york times bestselling author of the emperors children, a brilliant new novel. Aug 31, 2017 the burning girl is more than just a pretty victim edgar allan poe once wrote that the death of a beautiful woman is unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.
Nora eldridge, an elementary school teacher in cambridge, massachusetts, long ago compromised her dream to be a successful artist. General book club questions for study and discussion. The following summary and discussion questions reveal plot elements that the reader may prefer to encounter as surprises. New york times bestselling author of the woman upstairs not only a terrific, spellbinding read but a fascinating meditation on the. The woman upstairs is an occasion to reawaken a literary hot button that i love. The woman upstairs by claire messud, paperback barnes. The woman upstairs, by claire messud the new york times. The woman upstairs by claire messud reading guidebook club.
Shes the person you turn to when he comes back, begging for forgiveness. Instead, she is the woman upstairs, whose trash is always tidy, who smiles brightly in the stairwell. She lives in 221c, but sherlock and john did not notice her until she played the piano one day. The woman upstairs by claire messud is a 20 knopf publication. Read online the woman upstairs pdf by claire messud for. The woman upstairs by tracie padal information for book group leaders the section of this guide for book group members provides background information, questions to consider, and suggestions for further reading. Messuds cosmopolitan sensibilities infuse her fiction with a refreshing cultural fluidity. Nora eldridge doesnt make life easy for herself and she taxed my patience at times with her. Mar 01, 2016 for about twothirds of the book, her evenhandedness with her varied cast of characters is impressive, but theres a point at which any possible empathy for alix disappears.
How do these choices look to you upon finishing the woman upstairs. Novelists book discussion guides provide the information librarians need to guide group members through productive discussion. The white house chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the white house. Because we had read jane eyre several months ago and because we were looking for something light to read for summer, we decided that a fictional book about the last surviving descendant of the bronte family sounded like a. I wanted so desperately for nora our woman upstairs, a tidy allegory of the modern spinster to gain some positive forward motion in her life, to find purpose, hope and lightness in her endless selfreflection but she is the embodiment of a darker path. The woman upstairs claire messud, 20 knopf doubleday 272 pp. Not only is she shallow, entitled, unknowingly racist, and a bad mother, but she has not progressed one millimeter since high school, and even then she was worse than we. To be perfectly honest, i dont know what to make of this book, whether i loved it or felt it a bit anticlimactic. The 2014 arab american book award winners were honored during this years radius of arab american writers rawi gathering in minneapolis, minn.
Nora eldridge is a woman living in cambridge, massachusetts, who longs to be more. Welcome to the february 20 reading circle for the woman in black by susan hill apologies for the late start. Read pdf the woman upstairs absolutely for free at. Aug 22, 2016 catherine lowells the mad woman upstairs was my book clubs pick for august. At the beginning of the novel, she tells us that she is angry, but she is not the sort of person to really show it. Were there hints and warnings that a betrayal was coming. Want to see these questions in action, and join a fun monthly online book club no awkward silences, promise. My current book club group is much more casual, but perhaps too much so. Nora is the woman upstairs a single woman who, in her own words, would be seen to be in her spinsterhood.
The award ceremony took place on saturday, september 20 at 7pm at open book. The woman upstairs boasts an even splashier, attentiongrabbing plot, but it never makes a leap into narrative hyperspace. No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. Nora eldridge, an elementary school teacher in cambridge, massachusetts, long ago. A book club member discovered it when it was recommended to her through her kindle. Aug 01, 20 the woman upstairs by claire messud best known for her penultimate novel the bestselling 2006 booker longlisted the emperors children claire messud takes on abouttobemiddleaged regret with a raw vengeance in this, her fifth and latest title. Its a quieter, more reflective book and more character driven. My life with the first ladies, by j b west with m l kotz, revd by e bombeck. Someone who keeps secrets, and someone who sherlock finds in. Ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Reading the title of claire messuds latest novel, anyone of a literary turn of mind will immediately think of the madwoman in the attic, the 19th centurys bestknown woman upstairs.
The participants guide for the woman upstairs provides a summary of the book, several questions to consider while reading, a. The woman upstairs by claire messud reading guidebook. For about twothirds of the book, her evenhandedness with her varied cast of characters is impressive, but theres a point at which any possible empathy for alix disappears. She engaged our group and brought us together in a way that really made our club click. Nora eldridge, a thirtysevenyearold elementary school teacher in cambridge, massachusetts, who long ago abandoned her ambition to be a successful artist, has become the woman. Claire messud booklist claire messud message board. The madwoman upstairs book by catherine lowell official. It is assumed that you have read the book before reading posts in this thread, as the discussion might give away crucial points, and the continuous use of spoiler tags might hinder fluent reading of posts synopsis from back cover. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. From the new york times bestselling author of the emperors children, a masterly new novel. The ending of the woman upstairs delivers a tremendous shock to nora and to the reader. This reading group guide for what was mine includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The woman upstairs by claire messud the boston globe.
Nora asks, how did all that revolutionary talk of the seventies land us in place where being female means playing dumb and looking good. Our angry narrator, moreover, goes on to say that although the plan. Aug 21, 2017 ive been in a lot of book clubs, and i know its not always easy to get a conversation going on a book. Dec 14, 2017 in one of my past book clubs, we literally only read books that included discussion questions at the end of the book because we wanted to be certain wed have a meaningful discussion. Of course, i was surrounded by other women who also loved to read so we had something in common, but more than that, the woman hosting the meeting had a great set of book discussion questions and conversation starters prepared in advance.
She hopes she is finally breaking out of the mold when she the book title is fantastic. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. A lonely woman who is a teacher and aspiring artist becomes obsessed with the family of one of her students. Discussion questions book club recommendationsdiscussion. Note claire messuds epigraphs for the novelquotes from some very persuasive, and very powerful, male writers.
A thrilling debut novel about how far well go to protect our families, and our deepest secrets. Plenty of people hated the emperors children for the same reason they hated the corrections. The woman upstairs summary supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The burning girl is more than just a pretty victim. The title of the book, what was mine, gets at the themes of ownership and belonging. It is assumed that you have read the book before reading posts in this thread, as the discussion might give away crucial points, and the continuous use of spoiler tags might hinder fluent reading of posts.
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