The All Good Books Club meets tomorrow, Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM at the Snider Home (contact John or Eloise for directions) to discuss  “One Good Dog” by Susan Wilson.

There are discussion questions in the back of the book, but here are some addition questions for discussion.

  1. What’s your early impression of Adam March? Does it change over the course of the novel? If so, is the transition realistic?
  2. What’s the name of the canine protagonist in “One Good Dog?” Does the name change over the course of the novel? Why? What’s in a name?
  3. What are your reactions to the comment on page 40 that “Dogs are existentialists. We think of now. But we do have a capacity for learning, which is predicated on our understanding of the past, not as some block of time, but as an action, a pain, a smell. Our idea of the future is limited to hunger pains, I will eat, and anticipation of a walk at a certain time every day. Those of us removed from that cellar that day lacked the imagination to picture a happy place; we knew only that things were going to be different.”
  4. On page 41, is the passage, “There was a moment’s inattention as the body of the dead dog wrapped in its slippery shroud slipped out of the man’s grasp, thumping to the ground and leaving the empty blue plastic sheet in his arms. The people gasped in unison….” Does it ever seem that humans have more compassion for animals than for their fellow humans? Why is that?
  5. Is there a message in the episode of the businessman trudging through the blizzard (page 100) on a day when most people are staying indoors?
  6. Was there a scene in the novel that had special meaning to you or had emotional impact?
  7. When Adam meets with the judge, he describes the interaction on page 166: “It’s an old technique, one Adam used to employ himself with underlings who had inflated ideas of their worth. Keep them standing just until the silence becomes painful, a reminder that your time is way more important than theirs. A little nonverbal, nonphysical bullying. Even so, Adam is beginning to think the judge is overacting.” Why did the judge treat Adam in that manner?
  8. Discuss your reactions to the characters of Adam’s daughter Ariel, his wife Sterling, Adam’s father John, and his sister Veronica.  Was there change or development in each of the characters? How did your perception of each character change or remain the same?
  9. Who is your favorite character in the book and why?
  10. If you had to tell a friend why this book was/was not meaningful to you in one sentence, what would you say?

Remember, you can always find more information on upcoming book club dates and titles, plus a list of past readson this website (https://allbooksclub.wordpress.com).

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