A Good Girl Comes UndoneAvailable in store today
by Polly Williams
Book of the Month: September 2008
Reading Group
Read an extract
Read the first chapter of Polly Williams' brilliant A Good Girl Comes Undone- Resource Title [goodgirl.pdf] (0.08 MB)
Reading Group Notes
A GOOD GIRL COMES UNDONE -- READING GROUP NOTES
When Nick becomes financially dependent on Annie, despite her liberal views, she struggles to fancy him. Are women hardwired to fancy men who can provide? Can a woman’s success emasculate a man in the bedroom? Is this what happened here?
Is the novel sympathetic to Nick? Would we (and Annie) be so quick to judge if he were a woman? Is he selfish or just super-modern?
Annie is drawn to Don, the unreconstructed alpha male. Is this just about sexual chemistry or are there bigger issues circling overhead? What are they?
The novel explores the idea that the pace – and cost – of modern life can trap us in busy consumer lifestyles that don’t actually make us happy. Annie has to lose everything to find out what she really wants. Is this a realistic scenario? Do you know people who’ve given up all the trappings of success? Would you?
Will Annie wake up in six months’ time and think, Oh. My. God. What have I done? or will she feel relieved and liberated? Do you think she did the right thing by throwing in the towel on her career?
Family is at the heart of this novel, in particular Annie’s relationship with her younger sister, Georgia. Because of the first person narrative we see her through Annie’s eyes. How does Annie’s perception of her sister change over the course of the novel?
Annie’s dad dies near the end of the book. Does any good come of it? How does his death change Annie?
Do you think Annie and Don have a good chance of establishing a deeper, more committed relationship after the closing pages of the book? What’s their future?
A Good Girl Comes Undone charts Annie’s journey from one relationship to another, confusion to self-awareness. Were you surprised by the ending or did you think it was the inevitable outcome?
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