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Best Book Club Questions and Reviews

Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables

5/1/2022

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Book Review on Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables

Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables book cover.
The Inseparables is a great read for anyone who has ever experienced an intense childhood or adolescent friendship.
 The Inseparables is about Simone de Beauvoir's friendship (from the age of nine) with Élisabeth Lacoin, nicknamed Zaza. This was a hugely important friendship to her. which she frequently returns to in her writing.  

Thinly guised as fiction, in The Inseparables, Sylvie (Simone) firstly meets Andree (Zaza) at a private Catholic school. Sylvie is immediately fasicnated by Andree, with her diminuative size, but irreverant and bold behavior. Andree announces that she had been 'burned alive' and her right thigh 'grilled to the bone' while cooking on a campfire. For the first time, Sylvie experienced what it was like to have a special interest in one of her classmates .She becomes a friend to whom she felt passionately towards for the rest of Andree's life.

As the girls grow up we get a sense of the intense disappointment Sylvie feels when Andree's love for her mother and commitment to family, comes between their special friendship. This distancing between them continues when Sylvie realizes that she no longer believes in God, whilst Andree feels that she couldn't bear to be alive without a religion.

As Sylvie watched Andree, to an extent at least, conform to the expectations her family have of her, there is a sense of Sylvie wanting Andree to take a stronger stance than she does against them. Sylvie is disappointed when Andree confirms to societal rules; the reader is left feeling that Andree's personality has been chastened and limited by external contraints that she cannot or will not fight against. Despite this, Andree is a strange mix of compliance and rebellion. She agrees to her mother's breaking off of an engagement she disapproved of, yet injures her foot with an axe in order to avoid attending a social engagement she didn't want to attend. It is hard to pin Andree down and it this elusiveness that Simone is fascinated by.

As children and young teenagers, Sylvie and Andree had talked intensly and frequently about social, political and educational issues. It is important to remember that this was at a time when women were not allowed to vote It was a time of political awakening, yet many women would not be encouraged into intellectual pursuits or judged on their minds.

Sylvie constantly wants to return to the sharing of the depth of feeling and openness of communication the friends once shared. She perhaps resents the intrusion of societal expectatons in Andree's life. She seems to constantly long for emotional intimacy with Andree.

The second part of the story moves quite quickly. Critics have said that it is rushed and the structure of the novella is imbalanced. I tend to agree. Nevertheless, the exploration of the friendship continues to be shown and invite a strong emotional response from the reader. Sylvie's involvement in encouraging Andree's love affair with Pascal, shows her deep desire for Andree to be happy.

The re-telling of what happened to Andree at the end of the book is rushed and needs more explanation and developement. It is perhaps indicative of the depth of feeling that Sylvie had toward Andree, and her confusion about Andree's own increasing sense of self-disregard, that she writes so briefly about what ultimately happens to Andree.

Book Club Questions on Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables

  • Discuss Andree's reaction to her mother's disapproval of her first boyfriend. What does this reveal about Andree's relatiionship with her mother?
  • What initally attracted Andree and Sylvie to one another? What ultimately stood in the way of their friendship?
  • How might the relationship between Sylvie and Andree have been different if they lived in contemporary society?
  • Sum up how you think the parents of Sylvie and Andree would have viewed one another.
  • Who would you rather be friends with Sylvie or Andree? Discuss the reasons for your choice.
  • As the story is narrated by Sylvie the narration is inevitably unreliable and one-sided. What event/s in the narration do you think Sylvie might have a distorted or innaccurate view of?
  • When Sylvie and Andree were first at university, under the influence of alcohol, various misconceptions about how they felt toward one another were unearthed. Sylvie declares her depth of feeling toward Andree. In return, Andree states that she felt that Sylvie only ever felt passionately about her books and education. Who do you think suffered most from this exchange and why?
  • Discuss Pascal's character. Consider the way he presents his relationship with his father and his reticence about marrying Andree. What does his tell you about him? 
  • Discuss whether Monsieur Blondel was as you expected him to be. Do you think he would have approved of the relationship between Pascal and Andree? 
  • Discuss why Catholicism is central to what happens in The Inseparables.

Best Book Club Questions on The Inseparables (if you haven't read the book!)

  • Discuss why friendships formed in childhood can be so powerful?
  • In the novella, Sylvie stands aside to allow the relationship between Andree and Sylvie to blossom. Are there any circumstances when you would give up a boyfriend for a friend?
  • Look at the picture on the book jacket of The Inseparables. Discuss what this illustration says to you?
  • The Inseparables is thinly disguised autobigoraphy. Discuss why fiction is a useful medium for exploring personal relationships.
  • The blurb on the back of The Inseparables says "The compulsive story of two friends growing up and falling apart." Discuss how important friendships are to you. ​
  • Far more books explore sexual relationships between couples than patonic friendships. Can you think of any other books which address the issue of friendship? How interesting a theme is friendship to read about? How important is friendship to you?
Simone de Beauvoir
I love this photo of Simone de Beauvoir. She is so elegant and poised!

Personal Response to Simone de Beauvoir's The Inseparables

It's about thirty-fve years since I first read Simone de Beauvoir's works, but of course The Inseparables wasn't published until 2016. The well-written and interesting introduction by Deborah Levy to The Inseparables gave plenty of context to the thinly disguised autobigraphical account, as did this fascinating article Levy wrote about it for the Guardian.  The Inseparables resonated with me as it shows the power and intensity that childhood and adolescent friendships can have. In this relationship Sylvie's awareness of the dislike Andree's mother had for her struck me as worth commenting on. Relationships with friend's parents, which at the time, are often only half noticed and observed intrigue me. It fascinates me how children, well in fact, all of us can feel that which we are not able to articulate, We immediately sense if we are 'liked or not'.

The amazing thing about Simone de Beuvoir's writing is its depth and accessibility. Having rediscovered her writing after all this time, I will definitely be venturing further back into her works. I remember a book called She Came to Stay which, at the time, struck me as incredibly perceptive and insightful. I wonder what I will think when I read it again.
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Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!

31/10/2021

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Book Review of Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!

Elizabeth Strout author
I love this photograph of Elizabeth Strout. I can imagine her shouting Oh William!
I’ve read a few enjoyable and comforting reads in recent weeks, but Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William! is the first book I’ve picked up, in absolutely ages, that I struggled to put down. I read it in two sittings.
 
The strength of Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William! is the connection that the reader makes to Lucy Barton the narrator. She tells the story in first person and focuses on the minutiae of life, which she uses to explore big life questions. The effect that an individual’s childhood has on their present and future self is never far from the surface of the book.
 
In Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William!, Lucy’s second husband has recently died. She finds herself spending time with her first husband, William, and she and he go on an actual and metaphorical journey of reflection. William’s own life is unravelling as his third marriage disintegrates. Lucy and he discover hidden family secrets that create insight and provide them with greater understanding of who they are and why they are as they are. We learn a lot about William’s mother, Catherine and through that see the complexity of son/mother relationships. I’m sure if this were a high school text it would be worth analyzing from a Freudian stance.
 
Oh William! Is a book that focuses hugely on connection. The narrator’s own self-awareness of time passing, the significance of perception and her ability to pinpoint precise emotion is incredible. There is absolutely nothing twee or sentimental in the writing, though it is nostalgic, particularly in relation to their shared grown up children. The sophistication, yet simplicity of the writing in Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William! makes it an utter joy to read.
Book cover Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!
I was lucky to buy a signed copy of Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!

Book Discussion Questions for Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!

  • The theme of free choice appears in the book when William shares an anecdote with Lucy explaining how someone in the Obama administration said that although he was employed to make choices, mostly the administration simply did things. There was no actual choice to make. We do, but we don’t choose. Discuss this statement. Is it completely at odds with a belief in free choice?
  • Lucy Barton is an earlier book written by Elizabeth Strout. In that text we learn about her escape from her abusive childhood. She writes about a time when her mother, from whom she is largely estranged, unexpectedly visits her as an adult in hospital.Oh William! illuminates what we learned in the earlier book about the mother/daughter relationship. If you’ve read Lucy Barton did it enhance your reading of Oh William. Discuss?
  • Discuss how Lucy loves both her husbands in different ways.
  • What significance does Lucy attach to the nursery teacher not picking up William when he cried?
  • Discuss Lucy’s approach to motherhood. Do you think she is a good mum? Why or why not? 
  • Why was it so significant to learn that Catherine came from an impoverished background?
  • How much sympathy do you have for Catherine? Discuss the reasons for your viewpoint. 
  • Oh William! is a snapshot of the life of a family. Family life could be recorded about anyone, so what makes Oh William! a book worth reading? 
  • Sum up Lucy Barton’s character in five or less adjectives.
  • Lucy mentions more than once how different David and William looked. Discuss whether you think David is presented unfavorably to William. What point is Lucy making in comparing the two men?
  • Lucy, the narrator, tells us that she isn’t going tell the reader much about her second husband David. Why do you think she does this?
  • Lucy talks directly to the reader throughout the novel, almost as if they are friends. Yet, she also shows awareness that she is a novelist and that the reader is a stranger. Do you think Elizabeth Strout has created a convincing narrative style? Discuss.
  • Discuss the meeting that Lucy has with William’s third wife in the store. What is the significance of the recording of this conversation?
  • Could you be friends with Lucy Barton? Why or why not? 
  • Lucy said that William was the only person who made her feel safe. This is even though his adulterous behaviour would suggest that wouldn’t be the case. What does this reveal about Lucy? Discuss this, either in relation to the novel Lucy Bartonand/or Oh William!.
  • Book Club Questions for Elizabeth Strout’s Oh William (if you haven’t read the book!)​
  • The book is called Oh William!, but is it really about William? Discuss.

Book Club Questions on Elizabeth Strout's Oh William! (If you haven't read the book).

  • Lucy’s daughters are livid with her when she leaves William, even though they are young adults. They blame her, but don’t know about his many affairs. Lucy didn’t feel it was for her to share that information with her children. Do you think it is important to be completely open when talking to adult children about reasons for a divorce? Discuss your viewpoints.
  • Pam was happy with her second husband but often found herself thinking about her first husband. Discuss the complexities of second and third marriages and family dynamics.
  • Lucy is quite scornful of David’s luxurious house and felt like it was a show home. How important are houses and homes to you? What makes home ‘home’?
  • Lucy went to the stage door to speak to the cellist she admired. Six weeks later she married him. What is the boldest thing that you’ve ever done?​
  • Lucy hates William’s second wife who had been her friend, yet had been having an affair with William throughout the friendship.  Lucy is gracious toward his third wife, who is twenty-three years his junior. Discuss the complexities of accepting a future partner of your ex into your life.

Personal Response to Elizabeth Strout's Oh William!

The phrase Oh William! made me think of a different book Oh David! by David Shannon. It is a text I used to read to Key Stage 1 children when I worked as a librarian. Oh David! features a little boy who does a series of naughty acts from knocking over a vase to running down the street naked. Despite all his misdemeanors his mum loves him anyway.
 
This is, I think, kind of how Lucy feels about William. In life we make mistakes, we don’t understand why people act the way they do, we put faith in individuals when perhaps it isn’t deserved and we can’t ever really understand or explain why we do the things we do.
 
As Lucy observes the actions of her first husband she frequently says Oh William! This sums up the emotions she feels toward him, without perhaps having to overtly articulate or fully understand them. We are all a bundle of complex and contradictory emotions, which leave us baffled, yet alive!

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