SciFi/Fantasy (Or Whatever Else) Book Club discussion

This is a place to openly discuss anything in the book after you have finished.

Questions from the book:

How does the book portray the relationship between Melanie and Miss Justineau? Do you find it unsettling or reassuring? Does it change in the course of the novel?

(Use the "reply" button to respond to each individual question).

Do you view the ending as tragic or hopeful? And what do you think will happen next?

Education is a theme of the novel, with questions raised about the value of education, what we choose to teach our children and what that choice says about a society. Does Melanie's education equip her for the world she lives in? Do you agree with the choices that her teachers make?

"Which weighs the most, Helen? Which will do the most good in the end? Your compassion or my commitment to my work?" (spoken by Dr. Caldwell to Helen Justineau). Does this book offer us an answer to this question? What does the book have to say about scientific inquiry?

How effectively does the novel present a post apocalyptic Britain? And how much does it depend on this setting for its emotional impact?

Discuss: the book ultimately portrays the future of human-kind as hopeless.

Caroline Caldwell would have been a more sympathetic and likable character if she was a man. Do you agree with this statement? Why? Why not?

The accepted definition of a road movie includes the idea that the journey the characters undergo changes their perspectives on their own lives and the world they live in. Is this book a "road novel"?

What difference, if any, does the use of the present tense for the narrative voice make to our experience in reading the novel? Why do you think the author chose it?

Beth wrote: "Questions from the book:

How does the book portray the relationship between Melanie and Miss Justineau? Do you find it unsettling or reassuring? Does it change in the course of the novel?

(Use th..."

To me, Miss Justineau cares for Melanie in a teacher-student way. She is charged with the care and education of Melanie and that's exactly what she does. Her compassion as a human grows as they are put into tougher situations. Yes, she does go above and beyond, even endangering her own life for Melanie, but I can see that happening with any adult/child whether human or hungry. Melanie feels the way she does because the only kindness she has ever known is from Justineau, of course she would love her as a child would a mother. It's not really unsettling, it seems natural behavior in the way they are thrown together.

The only thing I found unsettling was when Miss Justineau got a bit jealous that Melanie and Parks were starting to get along. I get that she might feel that way..but in their particular situation, I think that it was much better that Parks/Justineau/Melanie trusted each other. There was no indication that Melanie liked him "better" as Melanie hero worshipped Miss Justineau!