Bailey's/Orange Women's Fiction Group discussion

Our January 2021 pick is The Siege by Helen Dunmore.



- This book was on the Women's Fiction Prize Shortlist in 2002.
- Helen Dunmore also wrote A Spell of Winter which WON the prize in 1996 (first year of the award)

Resources:
Book Discussion Questions from Bristol Reads: http://www.bristolreads.com/the_seige...

The Guardian did a Book Club series on The Siege:
1. The senses in The Siege: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

2. Voice and Tense in The Siege: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

3. Helen Dunmore writing The Siege: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

A few questions to get us started:

1) What format do you plan on reading the book in? (Print/digital/audio)
2) Where are you getting the book from (Library/purchase/other)?
3) Is this the first book that you've read by this author?
4) The Siege is historical fiction set in the USSR. Have you read any other historical fiction with that setting? Any favorites?

I’ve got the Siege as an audiobook and am looking forward to starting it in the next few days. I read A Spell of Winter last year and enjoyed it , found it very atmospheric. I haven’t read anything else by Helen Dunmore.
Can’t think of anything else I’ve read set in the USSR, I’ve read quite a lot of historical fiction but it’s been predominantly UK or US based, so nice to read something different.

I found a second-hand paperback copy from 'World of Books'. I have only read 'A Spell of Winter', but really enjoyed it and planned to read more Helen Dunmore, so this is perfect. I have just started it and find the writing is as atmospheric as it was in the previous book. I don't tend to go for historical fiction, as I find it difficult if I don't know the background, so I am interested to see how I get on with this.

I read this many years back but have ordered from the library - so depending if 'click and collect' still runs through the pandemic I will read it again.

I have read several of Helen Dunmore's books including IngoA Spell of Winter
The Lie The GreatcoatThe Betrayal
I read Ingo to my children many years back and it made such an impression on my youngest he still talks about it a decade later! Dunmore is an excellent writer, my personal favourite is probably A Spell of Winter

I have the hardcover on hold from my local library, which at this point is still partially open.

I've only read one other book by Helen Dunmore: A Spell of Winter, which I really enjoyed, so I am looking forward to this one.

I've read a couple of historical fiction novels about Russia/USSR.
City of Thieves
Doctor Zhivago

Happy new year all. Thanks for posting those resources Jessica, I'll check them out.

I'm thinking of using an Audible credit to listen to this one. It seems the kind of story that works well in audio for me. I'll be starting in the next day or so.

This will be my first by the author. The only historical fiction in USSR I can think of off the top of my hear is Dr. Zhivago, an all time favourite of mine. So it has a lot to live up to, hahah.

I picked up my hold at the library yesterday and so far have finished the first chapter. Dunmore certainly can paint a picture of the setting. I am hoping to read a few more chapters before I fall asleep tonight.

I also just started listening to The Bear and the Nightingale, which is also set in Russia. It is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy. It is also giving me that cold snow Russia vibe. Now, I just need a snow storm here in real life to snow me in so I can get the full atmosphere. ;)

I’ve started on the audiobook and am enjoying so far. I also grow vegetables do I’m enjoying all the garden planning.

Carol wrote: "I’ve started on the audiobook and am enjoying so far. I also grow vegetables do I’m enjoying all the garden planning."

I know! She is making me want to get out and garden. Unfortunately, It isn't quite the weather for that here. :)

Not gardening weather here either, just wet and grey. I think cold might be a big theme later in The Siege and sometimes that adds to the atmosphere of the book if you look outside and the weather is similar.

got my copy - on the last day of the click and collect before they close completely for the next 8 weeks - there's enough snow and ice to feel like we are under siege!

I'm waiting on my copy and hope to join in discussion soon.

Finished it last night. We did have some brief snow yesterday which helped with the atmosphere. I though it was a great read, atmospheric, emotional, and I felt really concerned about how things would turn out for Anna and her family (trying to be careful to not give anything away). Looking forward to everyone else views.

Carol wrote: "Finished it last night. We did have some brief snow yesterday which helped with the atmosphere. I though it was a great read, atmospheric, emotional, and I felt really concerned about how things wo..."

Awesome. I am getting closer to done. I've throttled my reading of The Siege a bit to give others in the group time to get a copy but should be finishing in the next day or so. I am on chapter 26 and have about 50 pages left in the book.

It is definitely an atmospheric winter read. I am really enjoying the writing.

I'm thinking that reading about a siege in a snowy landscape when we are in lockdown and it s been snowing since Christmas Eve is perhaps a little depressing!!
great book though - am about halfway - I have read it before and am remembering it more clearly now

Penny wrote: "I'm thinking that reading about a siege in a snowy landscape when we are in lockdown and it s been snowing since Christmas Eve is perhaps a little depressing!!
great book though - am about halfway..."


Penny - I agree, it does strike a little too close to home. Perhaps, we didn't get anywhere near the food shortages that they experienced in The Siege, we definitely experienced some supply issues that I hadn't been through at all in my lifetime. It helped me empathize with the characters a bit more.

I like Anna as a character, she was strong and loyal to her family. She is perhaps not what the world would expect to be a strong woman, being a nursery school teacher. It was a great portrayal of a strong female supporting her family.

I finished the book a few days ago. It was nice that she ended the book with some uplift. It wasn't all a downer. I would definitely be interested in reading more Dunmore in the future. Her writing is lovely and really atmospheric.

I am not very familiar with the geography of Russia and Leningrad specifically so I am going to go poke around on the web and find maps and photos.

Yes I agree with the character of Anna. The whole setting is the heart of the book - the relentless struggle to survive. The weather and the colours - or rather lack of them! Her writing works so hard yet seems light. I ve read a fair few of Dunmore. I think she will be viewed as an important writer of our times.

I will copy & paste the discussion questions in from the Bristol Reads link that I posted above. If any of these questions jumps out at you, feel free to post your thoughts. :)


http://www.bristolreads.com/the_seige...

1. Helen Dunmore wanted her readers to be able to identify with the situation faced by the citizens
of Leningrad. What techniques does she employ to achieve this? Does she succeed in her aim?

2. How are different types of responsibility a person might have – to the individual,
to the family unit, to neighbours, to the collective – depicted? How are decisions
made about where responsibility lies at any given moment?

3. What are the similarities between the two pairs of lovers (Mikhail and Marina, Anna and
Andrei)? What are the differences?

4. How is nature depicted? How does this natural force relate to humanity’s sense
of control and to the power of the city?

5. What does it mean to be heroic in this situation? Who are the heroes of the book?
Are there any villains? What does Helen Dunmore suggest are the keys to survival?

6. What does the book tell us about the relationship between the imagination and fact?
What is the role of memory?

7. Andrei ‘pronounces the word “writer” with a mixture of respect and doubt’. What is the
significance of the written word – plays, poetry, literature, diaries, reports – in the book?
What do stories mean to the characters?

8. Even before the siege, the citizens of Leningrad have lived in a climate of fear and
suspicion, ‘listening for the knock, trusting no-one and at risk from denunciation’.
How does this affect the way people live their lives and relate to one another?

9. The book ends after only the first winter of the siege. We readers know that many more
days of suffering lie ahead. What effect does this have on our relationship to the central
characters? How would the book have differed if the story had been continued to the end
of the siege?