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October Selection - Dancing on Knives by Kate Forsyth
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Sep 12, 2014 07:55PM
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on October 1st.
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1. What was the most memorable moment of the novel for you, and why?
2. The fate of Sara's father, Augusto, is weaved through the novel like a murder mystery of sorts. Does Forsyth dabble into other genres as well?
3. What parallels can be drawn between Sara and La Sirenita? How does the mermaid fable shape the story?
4. Sara suffers from anxiety and has regular panic attacks. She has problems with her courage throughout the novel. Can we still call her a strong female character? Why or why not?
5. Sara's father is shown on many occasions to be an abusive kind of parent. What kind of relationship do you think they share as father and daughter, though?
6. What were your overall thoughts about Dancing on Knives?
Firstly, I just want to say I absolutely loved this book! I haven't read anything quite like it before yet it felt familiar and nostalgic. It took me a while to like Sara as she is everything I'm not but once I started to understand her anxiety I realised that she was a great character.
So, what was the most memorable part of the novel? For me it was the continued recital of the story La Sirenita - The Little Mermaid. Not only was this a great metaphor and theme in general for the book but it reminded me of my own love for that particular tale. I could just picture Sara's grandmother telling her the story, savouring the gory bits. I also love the theme of her Spanish routes and the stories that seemed so far removed from farmland Australia.
Augusto's fate is almost as large a character as the man himself. His story is fascinating - that someone so vibrant and ful of life could be close to death. Sara's reading of the tarot cards reflects Augusto's fate and I found myself holding my breath whenever she read them!
Just a few thoughts regarding the book!
So, what was the most memorable part of the novel? For me it was the continued recital of the story La Sirenita - The Little Mermaid. Not only was this a great metaphor and theme in general for the book but it reminded me of my own love for that particular tale. I could just picture Sara's grandmother telling her the story, savouring the gory bits. I also love the theme of her Spanish routes and the stories that seemed so far removed from farmland Australia.
Augusto's fate is almost as large a character as the man himself. His story is fascinating - that someone so vibrant and ful of life could be close to death. Sara's reading of the tarot cards reflects Augusto's fate and I found myself holding my breath whenever she read them!
Just a few thoughts regarding the book!
