Question 1: Fake or Real?
What is the significance of the quote in the beginning of the book about organizing a fake hold up which ends up reducing everything to the real? (It is brought up again by Rowan on p. 142)
Question 2: Storyless?
Was this book a storyless story, a predictable formula, or neither?
Question 3: Meg's Fortune
Do you think Meg's fortune, as predicted by Robert, held true? The prediction being: You will never finish what you start. You will not overcome the monster. And in the end, you will come to nothing. Or did Miss Scott's interpretation of the prediction come true? (p.132)
Question 4: Ship in the Bottle
What was the significance of the ship in the bottle? What was it's purpose in the story?
Question 5: Bottles of Oil
There is a reoccurring theme of bottles of oil. What do you think is their significance? Do they have anything to do with the Aristophanes play The Frogs mentioned on p.38?
Question 6: Kelsey Newman's Book
What roll did Kelsey Newman's book play on all of the character's lives?
Meg, Christopher, Josh, Tim, Vi?
Question 7: In this Second World
Which of the characters do you think were were getting close to the "Road to Perfection" by "learn[ing] to become a hero in this world. by becoming truly yourself, and overcoming all your personal obstacles"? Which were accepting their special invitation from the universe for adventure and which were eating pizza on the sofa? (p. 37)
Question 8: Narrative Change
At one point Meg is talking with Rowan and says, "In narrative any equilibrium must become a disequilibrium, All narrative involve change from one state to another: happy to sad, or sad to happy usually. But it can be alive from dead, broken to fixed, confused to comprehensible, separate to together - anything" Rowan adds, "Every ship is a shipwreck waiting to happen." p. 145 What evidence of this do you see in the book?
Question 9: The Breakup
Why do you think Meg finally decided to leave Christopher the moment he does/becomes/acts more like she has wanted him to be?
Question 10: Beast of Dartmoor
What do you think the Beast of Dartmoor was? Was he the result of magic by Meg? Was he a cultural premonition brought to life by Tim?
Question 11: The Notebook
Do you think "Our Tragic Universe" is Meg's novel "The Notebook"?
Discussion Questions from BookBundlz