Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
Introduction to The Well of Lost
Plots
Thursday and her pet dodo, Pickwick, have taken up temporary residency in a
run-of-the-mill unpublished crime novel called Caversham Heights through the
book world's Character Exchange Program—at least for the duration of her
pregnancy. While the pages of an obscure, unpublished novel seem like a safe
harbor, Thursday's enemy stalks her in her sleep. Aornis uses her skills as a
mnemonomorph to alter and destroy Thursday's memories, which are all she has
left of her eradicated husband. Granny Next, apparently an ex-Jurisfiction
operative herself, unexpectedly appears on Thursday's doorstep to try to help
her battle the mindworm, but Thursday must face off with Aornis, and her darkest
nightmares, alone.
It seems that no one in the book world is safe anymore. Thursday reports for
duty with her Jurisfiction colleagues at their headquarters in the Dashwoods'
ballroom in Sense and Sensibility to discuss UltraWord™, the Book Operating
System upgrade that has the entire fiction world buzzing with anticipation. But
when the squad heads out to chase down the escaped Minotaur, Agent Perkins's
body is found mangled at the Minotaur's vault, and Agent Snell dies from contact
with the deadly "mispeling vyrus." While Snell's and Perkins's deaths
in the line of duty at first seem legitimate, a missing vault key, a damaged
Eject-o-Hat, and Snell's horribly misspelled final words point to sabotage. But
at the 923rd annual BookWorld Awards, Thursday alone can stop a conversion of
power that will shake the world of fiction to its very core.
Reading Guide
- Do you think the UltraWord™ plot is a parable about television's effect
on the imagination? What similarities or differences do the two have?
- Who is the Great Panjandrum? What is her role in the book world?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
