Hi book clubbers!! Our very first Honest Project Book Club is finally in session and I cannot wait to hear what you thought of this month's book. If you haven't read Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris yet, be warned that this post contains spoilers so hold off on reading this until you are finished the book; we would hate to ruin it for you.
Before we get in to discussing the book, I just want to say a big thank you to the two book club groups who met offline - yes in actual real life - earlier this week to discuss the book. This is so exciting as my vision for book club all along has been that little groups of friends would use it as an excuse to meet up offline to discuss the book and bring a social element to it. I'm planning on holding off line meet ups to discuss each month's book from January in the Kilkenny area (more details to follow) and wouldn't it be so cool if more groups like these sprung up around the place. Having both the online and offline discussion means that everyone can join in as it suits those that like a social element with book club and also those that perhaps don't have time to meet up or just prefer to join the discussion online. The whole idea with this book club is to do whatever suits you best.
So back to the matter in hand and that is this month's book selection, Behind Closed Doors. What did you guys think? To join in the book club discussion, just leave a comment at the end of this blog post and feel free to comment on other people's comments too.
Behind Closed Doors’ is an intriguing, sharply gripping debut thriller, where for a fairly short novel, there’s an awful lot packed into the pages. Jack and Grace appear to be a perfect couple however on meeting them, little disturbing jolts of information flicker across the pages, all is not as it first seems. I initially found myself frustrated with Grace, however as the layers built and the story evolved, my irritation melted away. B.A. Paris heads each chapter as either ‘past’ or ‘present’, and they run in a disconcerting way, keeping you on a serrated edge of understanding, as the two pictures gradually fuse into one. I recommend turning away any small moments of disbelief, just allow yourself to be captivated by the story, because ‘Behind Closed Doors’ transforms into a cracking and fiercely intense read
I thought this was the perfect book for our very first book club selection. It is intriguing and gripping, making it quite an easy book to read despite the subject matter being very dark. I flew through it and would definitely describe it as a page turner.
It's frightening to think that we all might know a real life version of Grace who is married to a real life version of Jack. The couple we know might not be exactly similar and it's hard to image someone as sadistic as Jack existing in real life, but I guess at some point we've all come across the couple that appear to be perfect from the outside but things might not be so perfect behind closed doors. The saying that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors has to come from somewhere, right?!
How many times while reading the book, did you think that Grace had opportunities to escape Jack's clutches? On so many different occasions, I found myself thinking, why doesn't she do this or that. However, I always came back to a realisation that nobody knows what they would do in such a situation. We can all say why didn't someone do this or do that or tell someone or look for help, but very few can put themselves in the shoes of a frightened woman and know what control someone like Jack can exercise over them. The author helps the reader come to this realisation and for this I think the author deserves much credit.
So please, please tell me what you thought and let's get a discussion going?
1. First of all, did you like the book? If yes, why and if no, why not?
2. Was the ending what you expected? Did it satisfy you?
3. How did you feel about the time going back and forth between the past and present and then meeting at the end of the book?
4. Did you find the characters believable?
5. Did you find the lack of options Grace had to seek out help believable?
Thanks so much for reading this book with me this month. Please let me know your thoughts on this book in the comments below. I'll so thrilled to have Book Club up and running and I'll be sharing November's book choice with you on Monday. If anyone has any recommendations for books for the New Year, I'd love to hear them.
Happy reading, Frances xx
