The Taker as a Book Club Pick
By Alma Katsu - February 2, 2012
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I've had the good luck recently to talk to book clubs about The Taker, a few by Skype but mostly in person. As the author, it's been a wonderful experience, to meet people who've read your book and hear the interesting things they've taken away from it. I was a little afraid that given the book's dark nature, people might be shy about discussing it in a group, but that hasn't been the case. On the contrary, the characters do so many controversial things that people seem to want to talk it over with others who have read the book.
There's a reading group guide available on my website, but I thought I'd list some of the topics we've talked about below--and yes, this is a shameless attempt to get you to consider having me speak to your book club. Just drop me an email at alma @ almakatsu.com to set up a date.
There's a reading group guide available on my website, but I thought I'd list some of the topics we've talked about below--and yes, this is a shameless attempt to get you to consider having me speak to your book club. Just drop me an email at alma @ almakatsu.com to set up a date.
- Jonathan: He is perfect book club fodder. Readers either love him or hate him. People love to discuss whether he's to blame for Lanny's troubles--did he lead her on?--or whether he was the victim, in a sense. For those who can't see his appeal, I ask if they've ever been in the presence of a man who oozes sex appeal, because if you have, you realize it's not an easy thing to ignore. I drew on my experience as a former music critic, dealing with rock stars, to perfect Jonathan's aloof charm. The rock star example seems to resonate--at one book club event, this discussion prompted a woman to confess that she'd once met Jim Morrison of the Doors!
- How much of the history in The Taker is real? We've had some interesting discussions about Colonial-era history, how novelists do their research, and how much fact is sufficient in fiction. One fact that may surprise you: Jude Van de Meer, the charismatic preacher in The Taker, was based on a real person.
- The path to publication: There's a long tale behind how The Taker made it into print, including how it started as a short story thirty years ago and how a near-death mysterious illness got me to return to writing fiction. But in addition to sharing that story, I'm happy to talk about the writing process and my experiences in the book business.
- The nature of evil: Many readers have said they feel real evil in Adair, the story's villain, and it's for good reason: I spent years in my career as an intelligent analyst studying genocides and war crimes and the people who commit them. We've had some great discussions about "believable" villains and whether the capacity for evil is a universal human trait.
