Literally Leander discussion

Our featured book for November 2018 House of Furies by Madeleine Roux. As always, there's spoilers in this thread, so beware!

This month our discussion questions (which you totally don't have to answer, if you don't want to.) were written by one of our staff members. Let us know any of your opinions on this book, as well as any questions of your own! (And maybe they'll be answered, too!)

1. Early on in the novel, Louisa tells Lee, “I never expect consideration. It’s the easiest way to avoid disappointment.” Lee replies that she has a very sad way of looking at things. How truthful do you find Louisa’s outlook? How do you think it colors her perception of the world?

2. What kind of person do you think Louisa is? Did you like her or identify with her at all?

3. What were your perceptions of Mr. Morningside? What role do you think he plays in the story? Do you see him as an evil or villainous character, or a heroic and good character?

4. Louisa has an education and the capability of being a governess, yet she chooses to tell fortunes before becoming a scullery maid for the Coldthistle House. Why do you think she chose to do “lowly” work when she was qualified for better? Would you have chosen to do the same thing?

5. Chijioke tells Louisa that Mr. Morningside once told him, “The harder the work, the more honest the man.” Do you think that is a fair statement?
6. Did you suspect that Lee was at Coldthistle by accident, like Louisa did? Or did you think he had his own sinister personality?

7. Did you think the occasional photo spreads, illustrations, and inserts from Mr. Morningside’s journal enhances Louisa’s narration? Or do they dampen or have no effect on your feelings of the book?

What did you think of our first horror novel? We're looking forward to hearing what you have to say!

November just wasn't a very good month for me. I read both picks for both book clubs, and wasn't a fan of either one. I think part of my dislike for this one stems from its classification as "horror," which is a genre I'm not much a fan of. Another reason? I found the narrator, Louisa, to be completely insufferable. She was so hypocritical and I really struggled to care for her or her story (sorry?)

1. Early on in the novel, Louisa tells Lee, “I never expect consideration. It’s the easiest way to avoid disappointment.” Lee replies that she has a very sad way of looking at things. How truthful do you find Louisa’s outlook? How do you think it colors her perception of the world?
I think this part of the book tells you two things: 1) Louisa is a realist, though optimists might choose to call it pessimism. I'm the same way--it's easier to prepare for disappointment so joy is more strongly felt, at least for me. I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than absolutely devastated, is what I'm trying to say. And 2) Lee is an optimist. He just is.

Anyway, I think this is Louisa's version of "Prepare for the worst but hope for the best." I don't think that people should just expect things out of those that they don't know, or situations that they haven't experienced or can't control, unless they've been assuaged to believe otherwise.

I think it also shows that Louisa hasn't had an easy life; perhaps you could say that she's learned caution and wariness the hard way. It didn't seem like her past wasn't all flowers and butterflies, and she's learned to protect herself. To her, that might be by putting up a barrier and reminding herself that bad things can happen to anyone, so best not expect to much. As a realist, I would agree that it's a bit of a sad way to look at life, but it's realistic.

I could argue all day over the value of being a realist, but let's move on, yeah?

2. What kind of person do you think Louisa is? Did you like her or identify with her at all?
Ohmygosh I couldn't stand Louisa. She was so... holier-than-thou, especially when she finds out that Coldthistle is basically a murder house. She has this belief that the staff is terrible and deserving of bad things. At the same time, she's one of those people. She's hypocritical in the truest sense of the word (in my opinion.) I quickly tired of her wishy-washy nature and her half-baked attempts at "helping." I can't even remember how many times she said she was going to save Lee from the Coldthistle staff, but ran away because it was easier. Don't even get me started, basically, or I might get a little rant-y.

3. What were your perceptions of Mr. Morningside? What role do you think he plays in the story? Do you see him as an evil or villainous character, or a heroic and good character?
Honestly, I would describe him as neither. I think he's a necessary character. I think (?) that Louisa referred to him as "the Devil," but I think it might be more apt to call him Vengeance. In his opinion, he was "righting wrongs." I don't necessarily agree that he should take that upon himself or use the methods that he did, but I don't think he deserves either title.

4. Louisa has an education and the capability of being a governess, yet she chooses to tell fortunes before becoming a scullery maid for the Coldthistle House. Why do you think she chose to do “lowly” work when she was qualified for better? Would you have chosen to do the same thing?
I can't remember exactly what Louisa said about her schooling, but I do remember that she didn't much care for it. Perhaps Louisa was trying to undermine her schooling by taking a job that she was overqualified for. Perhaps she didn't want to use an education that she loathed to better her chances, she wanted to make it on her own. I can't claim to know her exact motivations, but I think that she wanted to "stick it to them" in any way she could, hence taking on a job that was essentially below her possible standards.

5. Chijioke tells Louisa that Mr. Morningside once told him, “The harder the work, the more honest the man.” Do you think that is a fair statement?
This is one that I really have to think about; I'm not quite sure how to put my explanation into words. I think it makes sense. Those who work hard are suitably proud of themselves. Those who work hard have an integrity to their lives; many feel as though they have to work hard, because they should be giving it their all. In comparison, those that don't work hard are less apt to be proud of their accomplishments. And honestly, when have you seen a villain who didn't try to take something they didn't deserve through any means necessary--especially those when they didn't have to work hard at it?

6. Did you suspect that Lee was at Coldthistle by accident, like Louisa did? Or did you think he had his own sinister personality?
Honestly this was one that I went back and forth on. Mr. Morningside had like a 100% record of being right, and that's hard to disregard. BUT books are about people who don't quite fit the mold, so perhaps Lee was Morningside's first (noted) mistake.

I eventually settled on the idea that Lee may not have been directly involved with any murders, but that he knew something of one or more and therefore was guilty by association. Whether or not this means he was supposed to be at Coldthistle is a bit of a gray area; did Morningside only punish those who committed the act, or those that knew of it? If you knew of it, did you have to know of it before the fact or were you still guilty if you only found out afterwards?

These are why laws about being an accomplice are made, people.

7. Did you think the occasional photo spreads, illustrations, and inserts from Mr. Morningside’s journal enhances Louisa’s narration? Or do they dampen or have no effect on your feelings of the book?
Part of the reason I was excited for this book was because of the photos. I liked them in Roux's previous Asylum series, and thought that they were super atmospheric. But those who haven't read Roux before will probably recognize what they bring to the table if they've read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

This book did not deliver on what I expected. I admit to having higher hopes for this horror because I was hoping that the pictures would make it more terrifying where words didn't serve. The photo spreads themselves were okay and, at times, creepy (though like, half of the credits for the photos were owed to stockphotos, which kinda made them seem cheesier, somehow.)

However, I loved the drawings accompanying the entries in Mr. Morningside's journal. They were extremely creepy, and paired with all of the terrible things the supernatural creatures could do only made it better. Alas, they were few and far between. I might've liked it more if they were a bigger focal point for the story.