Book Club Discussion Questions

for The Pale Flesh of Wood
  1. What is the inciting incident of the book—inciting incident being defined as “the incident that starts the story’s conflict and sets the main character or characters on their journey?” Could there be alternate inciting incidents depending on the point of view of different characters?
  2. What are the main themes or messages of the book? How do they impact you as a reader and/or through your lived experiences?
  3. How does the author use language, tone, structure, imagery to tell the story and create an effect on you as a reader?
  4. How does the author create conflict and tension in the book? What do you see as the main conflict in the story and how was it resolved?
  5. Who is your favorite character? Is there anything that frustrated or upset you about that character? Which character do you find the most complex or intriguing? Why?
  6. Is there a character you would give advice to? If so, what would you tell them?
  7. Lyla stands at the epicenter of this novel. How would the novel read if one of the other characters stood at the center of the story?
  8. Would you consider the oak tree a main character? A secondary/minor character? Why? What significance does the oak tree have to the overall landscape of the book?
  9. In what ways does the oak tree embody the spirit and title of the book and its cast of characters?
  10. What is the most challenging or difficult part of the book for you to read or understand? Are you able to overcome it? If so, how?
  11. How does the book challenge or change your perspective or opinion about mental illness and/or suicide? Does the story enable you to understand the impact suicide or family trauma has on the surviving members?
  12. What is the most memorable or shocking scene or twist in the story and why?
  13. In what ways does the porcelain doll’s two appearances in the book underscore or address the subject of mental illness?
  14. What do you feel is the intention behind the chapters written from the point of view of the deceased as told with a more lyrical, poetically expressive form?
  15. Discuss the significance of the title to the story? And if you were to come up with a new title, what would it be and why?