Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for A Quiet Flame:
1. Mysteries are informed by Realism, a world view that presupposes the existence of Truth—which can be uncovered using the powers of logic and reason. (This is in opposition to, say, Romanticism or Modernism/Post-Modernism.) To what degree is realism's world view prominent in Kerr's book? What is the "truth" at the heart of the mystery?
2. Be sure to check out the discussion of literary realism in LitCourse 2, one of LitLovers' free online mini courses. The course reading is a Sherlock Holmes mystery, a perfect example of realistic fiction.
3. In terms of plot, mysteries are based on "suspended revelation" — a plot device in which writers withhold information from readers in order to build suspense. Ask yourself what does Kerr let you know...and when do you know it.
4. A skillful mystery writer embeds clues within the storyline. The revelation at the end is organic, flowing out of what comes before. (Not-so-skillful writers tack on surprise endings...which appear out of nowhere.) What clues does Kerr hide...and how well does he hide them. See also LitCourse 6 on plot and suspended revelation. The course reading is a wonderful short story/mystery by William Faulkner with a brilliant display of suspended revelation. Don't miss this one!
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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