The Far Reaches Discussion Questions
Below are some ideas for discussion in your group.
- The book opens with the battle of Tarawa. Had you ever heard of this battle? What would you think would be the American public’s reaction today to so many of their troops killed in a single battle?
- Did this novel make you want to read a non-fiction book about Tarawa?
- What’s your opinion of Josh Thurlow? What did you like about him? What did you dislike?
- Who was your favorite character in the novel? Why?
- Homer calls this novel, like all his Thurlow novels, a story of love in a time of war. Do you agree with that, in this case? What kind of love is portrayed in this novel?
- Why do you think Ready loved Sister Francis Marie? Why do you think she shunned him for so long?
- What did you think of Sister Francis Marie? If she was sitting in this group, what would you ask her?
- The Sister has a secret sin she cannot reveal to anyone but a priest throughout most of this novel. Did you guess what it was? Or was it more than one?
- Do you understand why she acted as she did after being captured by Colonel Yoshu?
- Why do you think Colonel Yoshu wanted Sister Francis Marie back? Do you think he loved her? Was he in any way a sympathetic character?
- What do you think of some of the metaphysical aspects to the story? The talking corpses on Tarawa, Purdy the Pelican, Dave the Megapode? What do you think the author was trying to reveal with these moments?
- Why didn’t the people of Tahila just pack up and leave when they knew the Japanese were going to attack them?
- Why do you think Josh got so drunk when he arrived at Tahila?
- Josh and Colonel Burr clearly have a past that has led them to dislike one another. Why do you think living on Tahila seemed to make them more friendly?
- Would you like to live on Tahila and in their culture?
- Did you like the way the story ended? How would you have liked it to end?
- Did this story have a moral?
- Would you read another Josh Thurlow novel?
