by Fiona Neill
For more information on OCD get in touch with OCD Action at www.ocdaction.org.uk.
Reading Group Discussion Points
Were you aware while reading that some characters’ narratives were unreliable? If so, at what point did you start to realize this? Why do you think people mis-remember significant events?
We have insight into Daisy, Max, Rosie and Nick’s points of view in this book. Why do you think the author chose not to include Lisa’s?
How do you think the four points of view worked as a narrative device to explore the novel’s main themes? Did you identify with one character more than the others?
In the novel the children inadvertently intuit the sexual tension between some of the adults, describing them as ‘susceptible’. Do you think the behaviour of the adult characters has more to do with circumstance or character?
How much did you know about OCD before you read this novel? Discuss the depiction of mental illness and addiction in the novel and how they impact on the narrative.
What does the novel have to say on the nature of forgiveness? Do you think that it is more difficult for children to forgive than adults? Is Rosie motivated by forgiveness when she offers treatment to Lisa? Is it self-serving or altruistic? What is Lisa’s motivation for sending the letter to Rosie?
Discuss the representation of social media dating in the novel. Do you think dating on Tinder provides a good escape for Rosie, or does it create more problems than it solves?
Twenty per cent of husbands leave their wives during illness, compared to two per cent of wives leaving their husbands. Why do you think this might be? Did you have any sympathy with Lisa when Nick’s behaviour became apparent?
The strongest bond in this novel is the bond between Daisy and Max rather than between the children and their parents. Why do you think this is?
Rosie accepted there would be no day of reckoning with Lisa. Do you think an apology could have changed the outcome of the story? Should Lisa have been in touch with Rosie sooner?
Who betrays who in the novel? In your opinion which is the worst betrayal?
Daisy believes Lisa is determined to take them all down with her, and even wishes her dead. Do you think Lisa is fairly or unfairly judged in this story?
What do Nick’s feelings towards Lisa’s illness and treatment say about his character? In Nick’s position how do you think you would behave? Was he right to criticise Lisa’s choice of cancer treatment, or should he have supported her?
Does Rosie owe Lisa anything once she knows she’s dying? Do you believe, as Rosie says, she agrees to the letter’s request because she doesn’t care any more?
Why do you think Lisa brings about her own death at the close of the story? Do you think any of the other characters could be held responsible?
THE BEGINNING
Let the conversation begin …
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PENGUIN BOOKS
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First published 2017
Copyright © Fiona Neill, 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover images: girl, left © Nisian Hughes/Getty; bench © John Wildgoose/Getty; woman, right © Mark Owen/Trevillion Images.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (copyright J. K. Rowling, 2007) reprinted here
The publisher is grateful for permission to reproduce an extract from Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (copyright © George Orwell, 1949), reprinted by permission of Bill Hamilton as the Literary Executor of the Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell
ISBN: 978-1-405-92346-0
