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August Book Group - The Feast by Margaret Kennedy

SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
in Heaven
August's read is The Feast by Margaret Kennedy. For those in the northern hemisphere it's a good summer read as its set in a seaside hotel just after World War Two. This blog gives a good overview of the story, which I found hard to pin down to a particular category. Part allegory, part mystery story, part situation comedy, I found it an enjoyable read and am looking forward to re-reading it for the club this month.
Margaret Kennedy isn't much read now but her novel The Constant Nymph caused a fair bit of controversy in its day and was made in to at least one film.
As usual I'll post some questions on or around the 20th.

Comments

  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I have already read the book as I couldn't get hold of last month's book in time. It was the first book I have read in a while that I found a real page turner and read in less than a week. My book has a foreword that I skipped and came back to in case of spoilers and it turned out I was wise as it has a lot of spoilers so I recommend reading it after the book.

    I plan to reread the book before the discussion in light of knowing the ending and more about the structure of the book as explained in the foreword, but which I didn't pick up on during my first reading. It should be an interesting discussion at the end of the month.

  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I've just finished my re-read of this book, so I hope some more people join @Mili and I as I have loads that I'd like to discuss.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I've a busy few days from Wednesday, so I'll post some questions tomorrow. I hope a few more people will be joining us, it is a rather interesting book.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    I had difficulties accessing this month's selection.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    That's a shame @Caissa . This thread will be open a while so you can always back to it if you do manage to get a copy.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Righty-oh, here are some questions. I'll try not to have any major spoilers so if these pique your interest, you can read the book in the next few weeks and join in later.


    1. I first heard of this book on the Shedunnit podcast which is mainly about Golden Age Detective Fiction. I think it would be a stretch to think of it as a detective novel, but does it have elements of a traditional crime novel?

    2. The idea for the book grew out of an idea Kennedy and her friends had to write a series of short stories about the deadly sins. In this book seven characters each embody one of the sins. Did you notice that and if you did, did it get in the way of the story. Did it work as a concept?

    3. The story is set shortly after World War II, and the aftermath of that conflict is still being felt, as are the policies of the new, radical Labour government. Did you enjoy reading contemporaneous views of that time. If you've read other books from the era how did this one compare?

    4. Were there any characters you were particularly rooting for, or particularly disliked?

    5. Did you think about what would happen to the survivors next, and if you did what would you like to happen to them?

    6. Anything else you'd like to add?
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