Literally Leander discussion

This month, we're reading If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang! Be aware that there will likely be spoilers for the novel in this thread.

If You Could See the Sun is a magical realism novel about a student at an elite Beijing international school who, one day, suddenly possesses the power to turn invisible. The novel is a debut from the author, and has maintained a 4-star rating from Goodreads users since its publication less than a year ago. It was nominated for the 2022 Aurealis Award.

Our discussion prompts this month were written by a staff member. We look forward to seeing anything you had to say about this book!

1. Imagine that you could turn invisible. What would you do with this power?

2. What do you think caused Alice to become invisible? Why?

3. Discuss the relationship Alice has with her classmates, particularly with Henry and Chanel. In what ways did misunderstandings affect their relationships? How did their relationships change over the course of the novel?

4. How does Alice’s knowledge of her classmates’ secrets affect her?

5. Why does Alice put so much pressure on herself? How much of this pressure do you think was influenced by outside sources, like her parents?

6. Alice told Henry that she would "rather be the villain who lives to the end than the hero who winds up dead." How did Alice exemplify the characteristics of an anti-hero?

7. How does Alice assuage her feelings of guilt? Does she deserve the benefit of the doubt? At what point is she fully guilty for her actions, and why?

I thought this was a fun read! Alice really embodied an anti-heroine role for me and I think that made me like the book all the more. She's definitely not perfect and some of her decisions were frustrating, but she's not a bad person. I would describe this story as a coming-of-age novel with magical aspects; I liked that it wasn't Alice's newfound ability nor her relationship with Henry that defined her.

7. How does Alice assuage her feelings of guilt? Does she deserve the benefit of the doubt? At what point is she fully guilty for her actions, and why?
I feel like this a really tough question. The notion of "guilt" is so dependent on morals, and those can change from person to person, or be influenced by outside forces. Like we all do from time to time, any time Alice feels bad for something she did, she tells herself that it was for the greater good--like when she removed photos from that one guy's phone. However, turning around and embarrassing him in response was a personal act and choice that does leave room for guilt.

It may not be popular opinion, but I think Alice is guilty from the moment she does things untoward for her own sake. Truthfully, we're all guilty of something every now and then. There's a fine line between "doing good" and "being selfish" and defining those parameters aren't always easy. Some of Alice's choices--up to agreeing to kidnap somebody--were questionable at best, especially when they weren't under duress, and she's fully guilty for those actions.