A number of readers have kindly suggested The Wolf of Dalriada to their book clubs. I thought a list of possible questions to start the discussions off might be helpful. So here are thirty. Don’t feel you have to do more than say 10-15. Avoid overkill! There is no exam or qualification involved! And some of the questions are literary; others are more related to personal development (and bibliotherapy!)
- Which three words describe how you feel, having finished ‘The Wolf of Dalriada’?
- Who is your favourite character and why?
- Who is/are the hero(es)? Who are the villains? And why?
- Do the characters change? (Remembering this is Part 1 of ‘The Wolf of Dalriada’ series.)
- Do you empathise with your favourite character or wish you were more like him/her?
- Which character would you most like to invite to dinner this evening and why? Who would you invite too? What would you hope to learn?
- If you were a casting director for a film/tv version, who would you cast?
- What moments in the novel do you like best?
- What moments do you like least?
- What is the most significant event for you in the story and why?
- What events puzzle you and why? What are other possible outcomes for these puzzling events?
- Could you lose yourself in the world of ‘The Wolf of Dalriada’?
- Is there an important theme (or themes) that this story illustrates?
- What is the role of superstition and tradition in this story?
- What did you learn about change and social classes in this book?
- What is the predominant moral issue? Which character understands what is right here or does no-one?
- Are there other moral issues? What are they? Who understands what is involved?
- What are the ‘unanswered questions’? (Again remembering this is Part 1 of a series.)
- How would you describe the genre of this book, if any?
- Description involves the senses – sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Is any one sense predominant in this book?
- Pretend you’re the author’s content editor. Have you noticed anything which is inaccurate or inconsistent?
- What does this tell you about the difference between fiction and non-fiction?
- What first drew you into the book? The blurb? The first sentence or paragraph? Why?
- Pretend you are writing a blurb for the cover of the book. What would you say?
What would you tweet (in 140 characters) about this book? - Does the book remind you of any other writers or novels you’ve read? What’s the same? What’s different?
- People say all fiction is autobiographical. If you were to guess at a formative experience in the author’s life based on what they’ve written in this book, what would you guess?
- What did ‘The Wolf of Dalriada’ speak to in your own life?
- What did you learn?
- Do you want to read Part 2? (You could sign up for the Author’s newsletter on this website.)
- Any other questions?
I should love it, too, if you would like to let me know your joint/several experiences of reading and discussing ‘The Wolf of Dalriada’. If so, please contact me through Comments (attached to this blog).
