Neverwhere discussion questions

Neverwhere Discussion Questions

Illustration by Jay Ryan

1. In the first chapter, before Richard leaves for London from Scotland and months before he meets Door, a woman tells him he has a good heart and that “Sometimes that’s enough to see you safe wherever you go… But mostly, it’s not.” In what other ways does Neverwhere present the dilemma that kindness and safety are unrelated?
2. London Below is made up of people who have fallen through the cracks. As an outsider to London who dislikes drawing attention to himself, does Richard belong in London Below? Is it his meek disposition and sense of displacement that drew him there in the first place?
3. Why do you think Richard sees Door on the sidewalk when Jessica does not? Is it indifference to his fiancee and to his life in general that opens him up to Door and her world?
4. Why is Door so attached to Richard when he is clearly in over his head? When Mr. Croup asks the marquis de Carabas why she permits the “upworlder” to travel with her, the marquis responds that “it’s sentimentality on her part.” Do you agree?
5. Discuss trust among the characters in the novel, particularly in relation to the Angel Islington and the marquis de Carabas. Why does Door implicitly trust de Carabas, and does Richard trust him as well or just go along? As a reader, do you trust the Angel’s intentions early on in the novel?
6. Is Hunter’s betrayal out of character for her? Do her actions at the end of her life redeem her?
7. Why does the girl who escorts Richard to the Floating Market, Anaesthesia, fail to make it across Night’s Bridge? Hunter says that the bridge is only noises in the dark, and the only harm is done by one’s own fear and imagination. Is it Anaesthesia’s fear that takes her? And why didn’t the same happen to Richard?
8. What traits about London Below strike you most? Conversely, how does Gaiman portray London Above? Are both worlds presented with positive and negative aspects? Are they direct opposites of each other?
9. Old Bailey talks about how no one lives in the city now, and London Above is presented as somewhat sterile and cold. London Below, on the other hand, is a throwback to less sanitized city living, but is presented in a more attractive way in the end. What about the novel is a commentary on urban life?
10. Do you think that despite his original fear and reluctance, Richard comes to enjoy himself in London Below? If so, when?
11. When Richard has to undergo “The Ordeal” at the Black Friars’ it’s suggested that he’s been imagining all of London Below after a nervous breakdown of some kind in the “real” world. Do you think it’s possible that London Below is only a product of Richard’s imagination?
12. At the end of the book, why does Richard choose to return to London Below? Does his newfound position as a hero in London Below make him more or less vulnerable?

From http://www.chipublib.org/neverwhere-discussion-questions/

October 2015 book: Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal

Julie has selected Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet as our October 2015 read.

ABOUT THE BOOK
From acclaimed British sensation Mal Peet comes a masterful story of adventure, love, secrets, and betrayal in time of war, both past and present.

When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War — and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—This lengthy Carnegie Medal-winning novel is masterfully crafted, written in cinematic prose, and peopled by well-drawn, multidimensional characters. Intense and riveting, it is a mystery, a tale of passion, and a drama about resistance fighters in the Netherlands during World War II. The story unfolds in parallel narratives, most told by an omniscient narrator describing the resistance struggle, and fewer chapters as a narrative told by 15-year-old Tamar, the granddaughter of one of the resistance fighters. The locale and time shift between Holland in 1944 and '45 and England in 1995. The constant dangers faced by the resistance fighters as well as their determination to succeed in liberating their country from German occupation come vividly to life. Dart, Tamar, and Marijke are the main characters in this part of the book. Their loyalty to one another and the movement is palpable though love and jealousy gradually enter the story and painfully change the dynamics. Other characters jeopardize the safety of the group and intensify the life-threatening hazards they face. Peet deftly handles the developing intrigue that totally focuses readers. After her beloved grandfather commits suicide, modern-day Tamar is determined to undercover the mystery contained in a box of seemingly unrelated objects that he has left for her. Peet keeps the story going back and forth in time, and readers must wait till the end of this intricate book to understand fully what happened to these courageous people. This is an extraordinary, gripping novel.—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* It was her taciturn but beloved grandfather, William Hyde, who gave Tamar her strange name. But in 1995, when she was 15, he committed suicide, leaving her to wonder if she knew him at all. Later, when she opens the box of War II memorabilia that he left her, she's struck by the need to find out what it means, who he really was, and where she fits in. Tension mounts incrementally in an intricate wrapping of wartime drama and secrecy, in which Tamar finds her namesake and herself. Forming the backbone of the novel are intense, sometimes brutal events in a small Dutch town in Nazi-occupied Holland and the relationship between the girl's namesake, a member of the Dutch Resistance; Dart, a code operator assigned to help him; and Marijke, the love of his life. Peet's plot is tightly constructed, and striking, descriptive language, full of metaphor, grounds the story. Most of the characters are adults here, and to some readers, the Dutch history, though deftly woven through the story, will seem remote. But Peet's sturdy, emotionally resonant characterizations and dramatic backdrop will pull readers forward, as will the secret that gradually unravels. Despite foreshadowing, the outcome is still a stunner. Winner of Britain's 2005 Carnegie Medal, this powerful story will grow richer with each reading. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

ABOUT MAL PEET
Mal Peet was an English author and illustrator best known for young-adult fiction. He has won several honours including the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, British children's literature awards that recognise "year's best" books

He recently passed away.