The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Welcome to our book club!

This is the third of our books to read and discuss.  Please use the comment section to add your thoughts.

How this works:

Please be respectful of other commenters, their ideas and their interpretations.  There will be no bullying.  Politics and religion are off limits.  Please limit your negativity.  This is supposed to fun for everyone.

Our third book is:

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.

by Stuart Turton

Our schedule will be:

*Day 1 & 2 - due November 1st

*Day 3 & 4 - due November 8th

*Day 5 & 6 - due November 15th

*Day 7 to the end - due November 22nd

*Please don't read ahead.  If you do, don't spoiler things for others.*

What is The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle?

From Amazon:

"Agatha Christie meets Groundhog Day...quite unlike anything I've ever read, and altogether triumphant."―A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

The Rules of Blackheath
Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.
We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.
Understood? Then let's begin...

***
Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others.

For fans of Claire North and Kate Atkinson, The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive novel that follows one man's race against time to find a killer― but an astonishing time-turning twist means that nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

Praise for The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle:
Costa First Novel Award 2018 Winner
One of Stylist Magazine's 20 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Harper's Bazaar's 10 Must-Read Books of 2018
One of Guardian's Best Books of 2018

From GoodReads:

"Gosford Park" meets "Groundhog Day" by way of Agatha Christie – the most inventive story you'll read this year.

Tonight, Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed... again.

It is meant to be a celebration but it ends in tragedy. As fireworks explode overhead, Evelyn Hardcastle, the young and beautiful daughter of the house, is killed.

But Evelyn will not die just once. Until Aiden – one of the guests summoned to Blackheath for the party – can solve her murder, the day will repeat itself, over and over again. Every time ending with the fateful pistol shot.

The only way to break this cycle is to identify the killer. But each time the day begins again, Aiden wakes in the body of a different guest. And someone is determined to prevent him ever escaping Blackheath...

SELECTED AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, I PAPER, FINANCIAL TIMES AND DAILY TELEGRAPH.  

 

The Haunting of Hill House - discussion

Please discuss this wonderful, classic horror story at the bottom of this page.  

I've included a selection of questions from The Valley Cottage Library's "The Haunting of Hill House discussion guide".  You don't need to read any of them and you can discuss whatever interests you.  They are only here to give you ideas on what to write.  I can't wait to hear from you!

    Discuss the reasons Dr. Montague chose Eleanor, Theodora, and Luke to stay in Hill House. The psychic phenomenon which they experienced does not seem to have made a great impact on them. How is this significant?

    Eleanor often tells herself that she deserves her newfound happiness at Hill House. What is the cause of this happiness? Is it real or an illusion? How do her feelings about both the house and its temporary inhabitants change over the course of her stay?

    How does Jackson establish a romantic triangle, given the social proprieties of the era in which the novel is set? (It was first published in 1959.) What is the significance of the song refrain Eleanor keeps repeating, “journeys end in lovers meeting”?

    Do you believe Eleanor was justified in feeling resentful towards the others for treating her like a hysterical female? Or do you believe the others in the party saw something in Eleanor that alarmed them? 

    Did Eleanor intentionally let her mother die, or is she merely suffering from bereavement and a mistaken feeling guilt? 

    Discuss the differences in the methods Dr. and Mrs. Montague use to study the paranormal. Which approach, if any, do you believe is most successful? Why?

    Why does Mrs. Montague believe that a loving attitude is more effective in a haunted house than a fearful one?

    The planchette is similar to the ouija board; it is a method of communicating with spirits from beyond through the process of automatic writing. What do you make of the planchette’s messages to Eleanor?

    While The Haunting of Hill House is told in the third person, by an omniscient narrator, the point of view throughout the novel is almost exclusively Eleanor's. Is her viewpoint reliable?

     It seems clear that we are meant to believe the reality of the physical manifestations of Hill House’s “possession” by otherworldly forces, as many of the phenomena are witnessed by two or more people, whereas many authors would have left the reality of these events ambiguous. What do you make of Jackson’s decision?

     Do you see Hill House's horrors as being different for its male and female inhabitants? If yes, then what differences did you notice, and how do they suggest the novel's take on gender issues? If no, explain why you don't see any differences, and what this equal-opportunity terror has to say about gender in the novel?

     Assume that the ghostly manifestations are the result of Eleanor's blooming telekinetic ability. What does this suggest to you about the character of Eleanor?

     Imagine that the events of Hill House took place this year. How would the story, themes, and characters change to become relevant for our brave new(ish) world?

    The Big One: what is it about Hill House that allows it to consume Eleanor's sanity so efficiently? Or, what is it about Eleanor that allows Hill House to consumer her sanity?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Welcome to our book club!

 

Please use the comment section to add your thoughts.

The book club sessions will start on the days listed below but comments are not limited to the day or even the week.  Busy?  Feel free to join in anytime after the discussions are available.

 

How this works:

Please be respectful of other commenters, their ideas and their interpretations.  There will be no bullying.  Politics and religion are off limits.  Please limit your negativity.  This is supposed to fun for everyone.

 

Please join us for:

The Haunting of Hill House

By Shirley Jackson

The discussion for this book will be available:

*October 12th

From Barnes and Noble (BN.com):

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

 

"Book Review: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson" from The Book Smugglers , accessed 7/21/2020

There are two things that TERRIFY me: ghost stories and haunted houses. The Haunting of Hill House combines both in a story of psychological Horror. That is to say: this book is like my kryptonite and I have been sleeping with the lights on ever since I finished it.

First published in 1959, The Haunting of Hill House is considered one of the best Horror stories ever and I can see why: I found myself loving it completely. This is a brilliant book.

Dr. Montague is an investigator of supernatural events who puts together a group of people to spend a few months at the infamous Hill House. He has chosen those he invited very carefully, based on previously experienced paranormal activity, hoping that will mean that those people would be more attuned to the paranormal. In the end though only two people show up, two young women named Theodora and Eleanor. Theo is a bohemian artist who just had a fight with her flat mate (possibly a lover?) and needs to clear her head; Eleanor is a reclusive, shy woman who spent most her adult life nursing her recently deceased mother. The group is joined by Luke, the young heir to Hill House.

The story is narrated from Eleanor’s point of view and it’s through her eyes that we experience everything that the group does. The story starts really slowly and for the first 100 or so pages nothing significant happens in terms of paranormal activity. Until it does: and it is terrifying.

The thing is, those first pages are essential to this storytelling and to understanding the presumed supernatural elements. In those first few pages we get acquainted with our narrator and see her frame of mind at the starting point. We follow her as she experiences the freedom of making her own choices, as she drives through empty roads and small towns, hopeful she is driving toward new things (perhaps it will end in a love story?). As get to Hill House it is her description of its darkness and strangeness and her description of its creepy caretakers with their message of DOOM (who oddly, work really well as comic relief) that colour our own view of the house and its inhabitants. And of course, there is also her depiction of the rest of the group and how she perceives them to be, how she sees her place in the dynamics of the group and how the relationships develop between them.

In Eleanor’s narrative lies the brilliance of this novel. It is as engaging as it is unnerving – all the more so because it is possible to see the little, subtle lies she tells the group about herself. Then, little by little, things start to change as the group experience the events. Is the House really Evil and haunted? Is it affecting the dynamics of the group and changing their personalities? Or is the house (or perhaps the idea of the house) affecting only Eleanor and as such Eleanor’s views of them that are being altered? There is a lot that could be said for both explanations of the events that take place in the book.

More than that though, there is a lot of subtext when it comes to the characters that is open for interpretation: is Theodora lesbian? Is Eleanor and Theodora’s relationship romantic in nature? What about Luke? Does he have feelings for either woman or none of them? How to interpret those will depend on what each reader brings into the reading of the book.

But even if the supernatural elements never really happened (or have they), I will still sleep with the lights on for the time being, thank you very much. Another thing I will do is to buy the author’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle which, I hear, is also fabulous.

The Ghost Bride - discussion part 2

4. Why is Li Lan drawn to Tian Bai when they meet? How do her feelings for him change over the course of the novel, and why?
5. The ghost world Li Lan enters is a richly imagined place governed by complicated bureaucracy. How does the parallel city reflect the world of the living, and in what ways is it different?
6. When Li Lan thinks that she has found her mother ' a second wife in the ancestral Lim household ' she is shaken by how horrible she is. How does meeting her real mother, Auntie Three, help Li Lan understand her own family?
7. When Li Lan is a wandering spirit, able to observe from another perspective, what does she realize about herself and her world? Are there positive aspects to her time spent outside her body?
8. Li Lan thinks, "All who have seen ghosts and spirits are marked with a stain, and far more than Old Wong, I have trespassed where no living person ought have." How has Li Lan's time spent in the realm of the ghost world ' speaking with the dead, eating spirit offerings, seeing Er Lang's true identity ' changed her? Is it possible for her to go back to normal life?
9. When Er Lang proposes to Li Lan, he warns her, "I wouldn't underestimate the importance of family." Were you surprised by Li Lan's decision at the end of the novel? If you were in her shoes, do you think you would have chosen the same route, with its sacrifices?
10. Did you know anything about traditional Chinese folklore before reading The Ghost Bride? What did you find fascinating or strange about the mythology woven throughout the novel, and the Chinese notions of the afterlife?

(from HarperCollinsPublishers Reading Guide)

What did you think of the book?

Li Lan keeps rescuing people.  Is that good or just annoying?

Do you agree with Li Lan's assessment of Yan Hong in the end?

What do you think of Li Lan's decision?  Were you expecting it?

Please share your thoughts on the book below.

The Ghost Bride - discussion part 1

1. Perplexed by her father's absences and worried by finances and marriage negotiations, Li Lan wonders, "What was happening out in the world of men? . . . Despite the fact that my feet were not bound, I was confined to domestic quarters as though a rope tethered my ankle to our front door." How does Li Lan chafe against notions of femininity, and in what ways does she rebel?

2. Malacca is a city settled by various ethnic groups over the centuries, with a long colonial history as well. The Chinese in Malaya, like Li Lan's family, keep their own practices and dress, but don't follow tradition as rigidly as in China. How does Li Lan benefit from this blending of tradition?

3. After Li Lan gives in to Amah's superstition and visits a medium at the temple, she observes a Chinese cemetery that has been neglected due to fear of ghosts: "How different it was from the quiet Malay cemeteries, whose pawnshaped Islamic tombstones are shaded by the frangipani tree, which the Malays call the graveyard flower. Amah would never let me pluck the fragrant, creamy blossoms when I was a child. It seemed to me that in this confluence of cultures, we had acquired one another's superstitions without necessarily any of their comforts." What do you think the comforts of superstition are? As Li Lan interacts with the spirit world, does her perspective on superstition change?

(from HarperCollinsPublisher Reading Guide)

What do you think of the book so far?

What do you think of Amah and her father and most of all Li Lan?  How different is her life so far from a modern girl's life?  Is she in any real danger from refusing? What do you think of the Lim household? 

Please share your thoughts on this part of the book.

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo

Welcome to our book club!

 

Please use the comment section to add your thoughts.

The book club sessions will start on the days listed below but comments are not limited to the day or even the week.  Busy?  Feel free to join in anytime after the discussions are available.

 

How this works:

Please be respectful of other commenters, their ideas and their interpretations.  There will be no bullying.  Politics and religion are off limits.  Please limit your negativity.  This is supposed to fun for everyone.

 

Please join us for:

 

The Ghost Bride

by Yangsze Choo

 

 

 

The discussions for this book will be available:

*Part 1 & 2 on September 14th

*Part 3 to the end on September 21st

 

This is not a book about a bride that died but the bride of a dead person.  Set in Malaysia during the 19th Century, this book is an interesting mix of Romance, Adventure and Fantasy based on traditional Chinese folklore.  

Here are some reviews of this novel from Amazon.com:

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Part 19th century novel, part magical journey to the Chinese world of the dead, Yangsze Choo's debut novel The Ghost Bride is a startlingly original historical fantasy infused with Chinese folklore, romantic intrigue, and unexpected supernatural twists. Reminiscent of Lisa See's Peony in Love and Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, The Ghost Bride is a wondrous coming-of-age story from a remarkable new voice in fiction.

 

Oprah.com's  Book of the Week, Indie Next List pick, Good Housekeeping August Book Pick, Glamour Magazine Beach Read, The Bookseller Editor's Pick, Library Journal Barbara's Pick

 

"Choo's clear and charming style creates an alternate reality where the stakes are just as high as in the real world, combining grounded period storytelling with the supernatural."

 PublishersWeekly

 

"What makes all this work is the sumptuous world of Chinese émigré culture and the love story that flows under it all--the kind so full of longing, the pages practically sigh as you turn each one."

Oprah.com - Book of the Week

  

"'The Ghost Bride', an impressive first novel, takes readers on one of the wildest rides since Alice fell down the rabbit hole."

San Jose Mercury News

 

"Choo's remarkably strong and arresting first novel explores the concept of Chinese "spirit marriages" in late-nineteenth-century Malaya through the eyes of the highly relatable Li Lan...With its gripping tangles of plot and engaging characters, this truly compelling read is sure to garner much well deserved attention."

Booklist

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy--including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets--and the truth about her own family--before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

Introduction

Welcome to our book club!

Please use the comment section to add your thoughts.

The book club sessions will start on the days listed below but comments are not limited to that day or even the week.  Busy?  Feel free to join in anytime after the discussions are available.

 

How this works:

Please be respectful of other commenters, their ideas and their interpretations.  There will be no bullying.  Politics and religion are off limits.  Please limit your negativity.  This is supposed to fun for everyone.

 

This fall we will be reading three books:

 

The Ghost Bride: A Novel

by Yangsze Choo

The discussions for this book will be available:

Part 1 & 2 on September 14th

Part 3 to the end on September 21st

 

The Haunting of Hill House

by Shirley Jackson

 

The discussion for this book will be available:

October 12th

 

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

by Stuart Turton

 

The discussions for this book will be available:

Please don't read ahead but if you do, don't spoil the book for other readers.

Day 1 & 2 on November 2nd

Day 2 & 3 on November 9th

Day 4 & 5 on November 16th

Day 6 to the end on November 23rd