Tansley Reads Rating Guide

The 2019-20 Line Up

Book Selections for 2019/20 

MEETING DATE	BOOK TITLE & AUTHOR
September 23	The Royal Secret,  by Lucinda Riley
October 28	The Orphan’s Tale,  by Pam Jenoff
November 25	The Gown, by Jennifer Robson
January 27	VOX, by Christine Dalcher
February 24	The Mother-in-Law, by Sally Hepworth
March 23	The Radium Girls, by Kate Moore
April 27	The Home for Unwanted Girls, by Joanna Goodman
May 25	The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Michele Richardson

Full Disclosure by Beverly McLachlin

[Tansley Reads Score: 57%]

Icebreaker

What would your reaction be if you were called for jury duty?

Questions

1.      Everyone tells Jilly that Laura Trussardi’s murder is an open-and-shut case, and yet she agrees to defend Vincent.   Why do you think she takes the case?  And what keeps her digging for the truth even when she’s threatened?

2.      Did you find Jilly believable as a person?

3.      When we first meet Cy, Jilly explains that he has been her mentor and friend, even though they’re destined to oppose each other in the courtroom.  What was the relationship between Cy and Jilly?  Why did he become so vengeful toward her? 

4.      What do you think about Cy’s relationship with his wife?

5.      Why is Jilly drawn to Damon even after he is acquitted?  At the end of the novel, was she justified in seeing Damon’s crime as separate from the person who committed it?

6.      What effect did Jilly’s sudden illness have on the plot?

7.      Did the inclusion of the Pickton storyline in the plot, enhance or detract from the mystery?

8.      In the final chapters of the novel two deep secrets are revealed.  Were you surprised by either?

9.      Do you think Jilly will approach cases differently going forward?

10.  As the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, McLachlin’s view of the legal system should carry some weight. Were you surprised by the way our legal system was presented in this novel?  

11.  Many of the main characters get a second chance in the novel.  Discuss the role of leniency, grace, and rehabilitation within the legal and penal systems.

12.  Imagine you practiced law.  Would you be a defense attorney like Jilly, a prosecutor like Cy, or a judge?  What kinds of cases would you prefer to take? 

13.  Quick round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss that we missed?

Forgiveness: A Gift from my Grandparents by Mark Sakamoto

Forgiveness : A Gift from My Grandparents

By Mark Sakamoto

Tansley Reads Score: 68.71%

Icebreaker

If you could only take 150 lbs of personal effects and survival items with you, what would you find the most difficult item or items to leave behind?

Questions

1. How do you think you would react if you were suddenly uprooted by the government with little help?  Would you be as accepting/forgiving as the Japanese community seemed to be?

2.  Japanese culture emphasizes respect for those in authority, stoicism in the face of adversity and pain, not making a fuss or creating a scene which would embarrass your family or ancestors, working hard at every task so as to make those around you proud. On p. 96, Mitsue’s father voices this influence when he says “shikata-ga-nai – it can’t be helped” when faced with the decision of the family leaving to go to work the Alberta beet fields.

How did these cultural norms affect the decisions and demeanor of the Japanese in Canada during the war years?

                     

3.     As in the question above, the phrase Shikata-ga-nai is generally translated to mean “It can’t be helped. Stuff happens. It’s how you deal with it (the stuff) that makes your life.” Which character for you best handled “the stuff” in their life?

4.  When Mark Sakamoto first interviewed his 90-year-old grandmother about her experience, he asked why she had never talked about it before. She replied, “Because hate can come back”. She was afraid to acknowledge it by speaking of it. How do you feel about this? Can hate come back if you speak of it?

5. “Forgiveness is moving on. It is a daily act that looks forward. Forgiveness smiles... Forgiveness is not a transaction. It is not an exchange. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the past” (p. 237).  Who is seeking forgiveness in this book? Who is forgiven?

6.  Why do you think Mitsue and Ralph became “instant friends” (pg. 182)?

7.    Which generation of characters most resonated with you?

8.  What revelation in this story did you find the most surprising or interesting?

9.  What does racism look like, sound like and feel like in the communities we live in today?

10.  Ralph avoids solitude because it makes it too easy to think about his time in captivity. Mitsue, meanwhile, experiences isolation in the form of segregation when she and fellow Japanese‐Canadians from Vancouver, are rounded up and dispersed— losing the sense of community they’d shared. In today’s society, how do certain groups of people face increased isolation?

                     

11.  There are a number of instances of the Canadian Government issuing apologies to different groups for injustices inflicted on them in the past e.g. First Nations, Home Children from England, Japanese Canadians, a boatload of Jews fleeing the Nazis being refused entry to Canada during WWII.  Do these apologies make it easier for citizens to forgive? Are they meaningful?

12. Did the fact that events in this memoir were written about Canadians and happened in Canada affect your feelings about the book?

 13.  Quick round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss that we missed?

A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay

A Noise Downstairs

By Linwood Barclay

Tansley Reads Score: 58.26%

Icebreaker

Have you, or anyone you know, had an experience with the paranormal or ghosts?

Questions

1.  Barclay begins with a prologue and then the story jumps 8 months ahead.  What did you think of this beginning and what direction did you think the story would take?

2.  Kenneth was driving erratically, if that was one of your friends, what would you have done?  

3. Paul and Charlotte’s relationship seemed to be on rocky ground before he was attacked, but she did an about face afterwards.  What did you think of their relationship?

4.  Why do you think we were introduced to Gavin Hitchens (Anna White’s patient)?  What purpose did he serve in the story? 

5. Was it a good idea for Paul to investigate what had happened to him?

6.  What role did Gilford Lamb and Harold Foster play in developing the story?

                     

7.  What did you think of the typewriter noises in the night?

8.  How might the story have unfolded if Kenneth had not agreed to allow Paul to visit him?

9.  When did you figure out Len and Gabriella's roles in the story?

10.  After overhearing Bill say to Charlotte, “It worked”, Anna follows Bill.  Why did she do that?

                     

11.  Based on what we’ve read about Anna White, would you have had faith in her as a therapist?

12.  What did you think about Frank?

13. What was your favourite plot twist/red herring?  Which character provoked the strongest response from you?

14. What did you think of the ending?

Another Woman's Husband, Gill Paul

Another Woman’s Husband

By Gill Paul

(Tansley Reads Rating: 64%)

Icebreaker

Events of historical significance, such as 911 and the assassination of JFK, for example, stay with us.  Do you remember where you were/what you were doing when you heard of Diana’s death?  Did you watch the funeral?

Questions

1.  Did the linking of the two plots add or detract from your enjoyment of this book?

2.  Both Wallis and Diana moved among the jet set, partying and dressing to the nines. How else were they similar or different?

3.  Describe Wallis and Mary, each in five words or less?

4. What did you think of Ernest?

5. Do you think Mary betrayed Wallis when she had an affair with Ernest and then subsequently married him?

6. Wallis’s character is complicated.  We are told she didn’t want to marry “Peter Pan”.  Was it out of “duty” that she did so or was there another reason?  What do you think of Edward?

                     

7.  Did you find all the friendships convincing?

8.  What do you think of Alex and Rachel’s relationship?

9. Why did Alex become so obsessed with his conspiracy theory of Diana’s death?

10.  Wallis generally had  bad press since the abdication crisis.  Do you think there was misogyny involved?  Would it have been different if she had been a divorced man whom a female heir of the throne fell in love with?

                     

11.  This novel mentions some living people who were affected by Diana’s death – in particular, her sons. Do you think it does so respectfully? Is it always acceptable for a novelist to write about people who are still alive?

12.  Had Edward VIII married Wallis Simpson, remained King, but had no heirs, Elizabeth would still have become Queen, but 20 years later than she did. (Edward died in 1972) How might the commonwealth she inherited have been different?

13. Quick round: What did you think of the book? Is there anything you want to discuss that we missed?