Reading Discussion: 2nd 8 Week Book Choice

Directions

• Initial response due Thursday at 11:59pm
• Respond to TWO classmates due by Saturday at 11:59pm

Answer any three of the questions for your book.

Questions for Cuckoo’s Calling:

1. What do you think of Cormoran Strike? What do you think of Robin Ellacott?
2. Using a hard-bitten investigator assisted by a young, ambitious “Girl Friday” is a classic detective-story trope. What does her character bring to the story? How does their relationship work or not work in your opinion?
3. When we meet Strike, he is not at a personal high point. What are some of his struggles? He is further developed as the book proceeds – what did you find most interesting or surprising as we learned more about him in Part 1?
4. Why do you think Strike is so passionate about investigation and being a detective?
5. How does Strike’s disability affect his investigation? How does it affect how he relates to others? Why do you think his prosthesis pain/discomfort frequently is mentioned?
6. Does the fact that the book was penned by J.K. Rowling affect you view of it? “In speculating as to why J.K. Rowling might have written The Cuckoo’s Calling under a pseudonym, the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Rowling may well have felt that the reaction, both critical and commercial [to Casual Vacancy, her first effort after Harry Potter], was distorted by her fame.” Why do you think she felt compelled to use a pseudonym? If you’ve read her Harry Potter books, do you detect any similarities, either in style or structure?