When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
On a hot summer day, Joanna Mason's family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment later, Joanna's life is changed forever...
On a dark night thirty years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a shocking sound...
At the end of a long day, 16-year-old Reggie is looking forward to watching a little TV. Then a terrifying noise shatters her peaceful evening. Luckily, Reggie makes it a point to be prepared for an emergency...
These three lives come together in unexpected and deeply thrilling ways in the latest novel from Kate Atkinson, the critically acclaimed author who Harlan Coben calls "an absolute must-read."
Listen to an excerpt
Reading Group Guide
On a hot summer day, Joanna Mason's family slowly wanders home along a country lane. A moment later, Joanna's life is changed forever...
On a dark night thirty years later, ex-detective Jackson Brodie finds himself on a train that is both crowded and late. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly hears a shocking sound...
At the end of a long day, 16-year-old Reggie is looking forward to watching a little TV. Then a terrifying noise shatters her peaceful evening. Luckily, Reggie makes it a point to be prepared for an emergency...
These three lives come together in unexpected and deeply thrilling ways in the latest novel from Kate Atkinson, the critically acclaimed author who Harlan Coben calls "an absolute must-read."
Listen to an excerpt
Reading Group Guide
1. Many of the characters in When Will There Be Good News? have lost family members: Joanna loses her mother, sister, and baby brother in the novel’s opening pages; Reggie’s mother has recently drowned; and Jackson lost his mother, brother, and sister in the course of a year when he was twelve. In view of these tragedies, compare Joanna’s, Reggie’s, and Jackson’s respective outlooks on life with those of the other characters in the novel.
2. The question of Nathan’s paternity haunts Jackson Brodie. Why? How might Jackson’s life change if he discovered he was Nathan’s father? Is Jackson a good father to Marlee?
3. With When Will There Be Good News? — and previously also in Case Histories and One Good Turn — Kate Atkinson introduced elements of the traditional crime novel into her fiction. Other than the “crime,” what elements make up a crime novel? What crime- fiction conventions can you discern in this book?
4. When Will There Be Good News? has three central female characters: Joanna, Louise, and Reggie. Discuss the ways in which these three central characters are similar. Which of the three would you most like to encounter again in a subsequent novel by Kate Atkinson?
5. Of Jackson Brodie, Atkinson writes, “How ironic that both Julia and Louise, the two women he’d felt closest to in his recent past, had both unexpectedly got married, and neither of them to him” (page 90). What are the chances that Jackson will ever have a successful romantic relationship? Why do you think he has been unlucky so far, even though he is such an appealing character?
6. Discuss the idea of “good” characters and “evil” characters in When Will There Be Good News? Do you think the novel’s central characters are either essentially “good” or essentially “evil,” or are they a combination of both? How do Louise, Reggie, and Jackson — each of whom breaks the law to achieve the “right” result — fi gure into your viewpoint? What is the moral code at work in the novel?
7. Death, violence, and hardship seem to stalk Reggie, yet she remains remarkably resilient. What do you think sustains her?
8. Discuss the institution of marriage as it is portrayed in the novel. Consider Louise’s marriage, Joanna’s marriage, Jackson’s marriage, and Julia’s marriage. Are there any characters in the novel who are happily married?
9. Jackson Brodie believes that “a coincidence is just an explanation waiting to happen” (page 319). Discuss some of the coincidences in When Will There Be Good News? Do they make the story seem more real? Or less real?
10. Despite the novel’s title and the early statement that “everything was bad. There was no question about it” (page 10), there are many instances of humor in the story. Do you think When Will There Be Good News? is essentially a humorous novel with tragic events or a tragic novel with moments of levity?
GIVEAWAY
I have three copies of this book to giveaway courtesy of Hachette Books. For your first entry (MUST DO THIS ONE FOR ANY OTHER ENTRIES TO COUNT) just tell me you want to win! Also leave your email address.
For additional entries you can sign up to follow (old followers let me know), Twitter or post it on your blog. Each entry must have it's own comment. (Four entries total.)
This giveaway if for U.S./Canada only - no PO boxes and will end Jan 20th! Good luck!
114 comments:
I would love to win this and have been enjoying all the fantastic giveaways you've been hosting!
ellybean at connected2christ dot com
I follow your blog!
ellybean (at) connected2christ.com
I love Atkinson; I would love to win!
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
I am an old follower
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
justpeachy36@yahoo.com
This is a great giveaway, count me in!
I am an old follower.
I tweeted the giveaway here: http://twitter.com/justpeachy36/status/7175882628
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I am a follower of your blog
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I am a follower
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I follow
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mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
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chinook92 at gmail dot com
I follow Books and Needlepoint via Google Friends.
chinook92 at gmail dot com
I Tweeted:
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mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
I follow here and via igoogle.
mtakala1 AT yahoo DOT com
I want to win!
freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca
Old follower.
freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca
Tweet; http://twitter.com/fredalicious/status/7204177205
freda.mans[at]sympatico.ca
I definitely want to win! Thanks for the chance.
jlshall AT comcast DOT net
And I'm an old follower, too.
jlshall AT comcast DOT net
No need to enter me, babe. I'm dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I've got this posted at Win a Book for you.
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follower
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haleymathiot@yahoo.com
I tweeted at twitter.com/haleymathiot
+1 posted at http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2009/10/contests.html
thanks!!
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I follow
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already a follower
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I am an old follower.
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janemaritz at yahoo dot com
I'm an old follower.
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i want to win ;)
karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(dot)com
i'm a subscriber :)
karenk
kmkuka(at)yahoo(Dot)com
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srfbluemama at gmail dot com
I'm a follower and would love to win Kate Atkinson's new book. Please add me to your giveaway list. Thank you!
Happy New Year!
Sandee
Muzzley56[at]aol[dot]com
I want to win!
bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com
tweeted
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bluebelle0367(at)hotmail(dot)com
Please enter me - this sounds like a wonderful book.
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I'm an old follower.
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nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
Old follower
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
Blogged:
http://cerebralgirl.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-giveaways-in-blogworld-1-02-10.html
nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com
I would love to win this book.
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot}com
Your review sounds wonderful. :)
gahome2mom/at/gmail/dot/com
follower
I want to win, please! The book sounds great... Thanks!
Aliya D.
aliyadaya(at)shaw(dot)ca
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I follow.
misusedinnocence@aol.com
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Tweeted:
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I'm a follower. walkerd@primus.ca
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Anna
perfectbluemoon@gmail[dot]com
Per your instructions - "I want to win". Thanks!
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Old follower - janetfaye
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http://twitter.com/HtxAstrosFan/status/7712826608
tweet!!
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posted on facebook page
Lacey914@sbcglobal.net
This sounds like my kind of book! Would love to read this! Thanks! jacquecurl1(at)gmail.com
I follow. jacquecurl1(at)gmail.com
Please enter me
melissa(At)gingerhigh(dot)com
I am a follower
melissa(at)gingerhigh(dot)com
Can't wait to see how the crime novel elements get worked into this story, and exactly which elements those are. I'm intrigued and I do want to win!
wandapanda at live dot com
Public follower with Google Friend Connect.
Wanda
wandapanda at live dot com
I'm following kherbrand on Twitter as TantaDesChiens, and here's my tweet:
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shopgurl101 (at) gmail(dot)com
blog follower!
shopgurl101 (at) gmail(dot)com
http://twitter.com/shopgurl/status/7818183858 tweet
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blogged: http://sweetqt.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/giveaway-books-and-needle-point/
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skkorman@bellaouth.net
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ebeandebe at gmail dot com
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I'm a follower
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I am an Old Follower
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