The Start of Discussion: Jellicoe Road

Note from Tami: First off, I wanted to warn the readers, Jellicoe Road can be a bit confusing at the beginning. Stick with it, you won't be sorry. When I first picked up the book, I almost put it down after the first few chapters (which is so unlike me). I couldn't keep track of all of the characters and I had trouble keeping the time frame of events straight. PLEASE keep reading. You will be rewarded. Everything becomes clear and hopefully you will be as moved by this book as I was.

Now on to our regularly schedule discussion questions! Since we're seven days into the month and probably started reading Jellicoe Road, I thought I would post a few discussion questions to think about while you're reading. These are just basic questions that we will be discussing for each book. We will get more specific with our discussion later in the month. Please remember, if you have finished Jellicoe Road, do NOT post any spoilers for those who have yet to finish.

If you visit the comments, you'll notice that I've also posted each question there, as well as this post. If you want to join in on the discussion for any of the questions, please just hit the "post reply" option next to the question. That way, we can keep each discussion a separate thread and reply to individuals. Remember, please no spoilers in this discussion. We can talk about the end of the book in the last discussion post of the month.

Also, if you haven't already, please read the FAQ and Rules. They will always be posted in the sidebar if you need to find them at any time.

1. How does the setting figure into the book? Is the setting a character? Does it come to life? Did you feel you were experiencing the time and place in which the book was set?
2. What motivated the story? Was the novel plot-driven or character-driven?
3. What are some of the book's themes? How important were they?
4. How are the book's images symbolically significant? Do the images help to develop the plot, or help to define characters?
5. What was your first impression of the characters?

Please don't be shy. Make sure to join in the discussion. If there is another question you'd like others to consider while reading the book, please feel free to post them in the comments section as a new comment.

If you haven't picked up your copy of Jellicoe Road yet, don't worry. There is still plenty of time. We will be reading and discussing the book throughout the month!