82. (October 2019) Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler — The Tabletop Roleplayers' Book Club

Sarah Canary Q7 - '“She overpowered me with her inhuman strength. She threatened me with her chopsti

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:59:05 +0000

We don't ever learn much about the titular character. Is she even a character? Does it bother you that we don't learn more? Other characters develop different theories about her through the book. Who do you think she is?

Sarah Canary Q3 – I read a story like that once, only instead of a chinaman, it was a cowardly lion,

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:57:07 +0000

Sarah Canary is often said to be a re-telling, of sorts, of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Do you agree, in full or in part? Which characters and situations do the two books have in common?

Sarah Canary Q8 – 'In 1871, strange events took place in the skies...'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:59:28 +0000

How would you classify this novel? It definitely has picaresque elements, but how neatly does it fin into that genre? It was nominated for a Nebula award, but is it really Sci-fi?

Sarah Canary Q5 - '“The Wild Woman does not recognize herself in a mirror”'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:57:57 +0000

What does Sarah Canary have to say about women and their place in society? Is this a feminist novel? There are very obvious scenes that demonstrate the mistreatment of women and minorities in the book, but is there something deeper here?

Sarah Canary Q10 - “Owls hoot in B flat, cuckoos in D..."

Apocryphal — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 14:22:26 +0000

I had meant to slip gaming discussion into the other threads, but now think it would be better in it's own.

The main thing I'd like to discuss is the format, and we could even take a step away from this novel and discuss this instead in terms of The wizard of Oz. TWoZ presents us with a ready-made part of characters, each of which has strengths and weaknesses - which is pretty much a classic adventuring set-up as per D&D. However, the difference is that the focus is on the weaknesses, rather than the strengths - the thief's heartlessness, if you will, rather than his lock-picking ability. And each character has a personal quest to relieve themselves of their weakness. In TWoZ, they all share the same quest - to first find the wizard, who then insists that they kill the witch before he will help them, so the quest itself is not especially tied to the problems each character needs to solve. This means that they either all receive the help they were looking for, or none do - assuming they all survive.

Any thoughts on this structure? Any ideas on games with which to play it? I know of two Oz inspire games and I have both, but have read neither. Adventures in Oz is one, and I know it trades on a friendship-building mechanic, so it might be just the thing, here. The other is The Zoerceror of Zo, which uses PDQ or PDQ# as the mechanism, if I recall.

Sarah Canary Q1 – 'Sometimes one of the great dreamers passes among us.'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:56:03 +0000

What did you think of Sarah Canary as a novel? Did you enjoy the story? Did you enjoy the characters? Did you enjoy the setting? The situations? Did it hold together as an overarching story?

Sarah Canary Q2 - '“The dress sheds bullets,” Harold told him.'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:56:35 +0000

There are several recurring motifs in the novel that are with us from beginning to end. The one-winged bird, mirrors, and Sarah Canary's dress are the three that stood out most for me. Are there any others? What do you think they symbolize?

Sarah Canary Q9 - 'We listen to stories and forget that the listening also tells the story.'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:59:53 +0000

Sarah Canary revisits a theme we've seen across several of the novels we've read here at the club, and that is that the reader of the story is just as important as the writer. Do you have a view on this? Has your opinion changed since we first discussed it? Answering after you've seen people's reactions to question 1, how well do you think this novel expresses this theme?

Sarah Canary Q4 – I read a story like that once, only instead of an ugly woman, it was a Zone, and i

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:57:34 +0000

This novel strikes me as having a lot in common with another novel we read long ago, Roadside Picnic, by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. In that novel, people were entering a zone filled with objects left behind be visiting aliens. It was full of dangers, but also great promise, and many people elected to enter the zone in an effort to find God. In what ways are Roadside Picnic and Sarah Canary similar? Or are they too different?

Sarah Canary Q6 - '“I don't mind telling you, I see things quite differently now.”'

Apocryphal — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 21:58:37 +0000

How do the four main character – Chin, B.J., Harold, and Miss Dixon, change over the course of the novel. Is Sarah Canary the impetus for this change? What is the author saying about the nature of change?