Read with Sharon - October 2023

Homecoming - Kate Morton

My October book pick is Homecoming by Kate Morton. And what a book! I was about 100 pages in when I thought I had the story figured out. How right, and, oh, how wrong I was! Masterfully crafted, Kate Morton takes us on a ride we won’t soon forget!

Set in Australia from the late 1950s to present, Homecoming is the story of a young journalist unexpectedly thrown in to her family’s past and her quest to uncover the horrible truth behind their secret. If there is only one of my book club picks you read this year, Homecoming is that book.

Homecoming is a dense read and at nearly 600 pages, you’ll want to start early. That’s one reason why I am moving our discussion out a week from our usual time.

This month, our zoom meeting will be held on Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 pm EDT.

Until then, I hope you enjoy reading Homecoming.

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Reviews

The story behind “Homecoming,” Kate Morton’s seventh novel, begins like so many modern tales of change and reinvention: It was March 2020, and the author of “The Clockmaker’s Daughter” and “The Lake House” was living in the Hampstead neighborhood of London, working on a new book from an office that had a view of a brick wall. (“I’m a huge fan of Victorian bricks!” she said in a phone interview.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/books/review/homecoming-kate-morton.html

 

When journalist Jess Turner-Bridges receives a call that her grandmother Nora is in the hospital following a fall, she leaves her chosen home of London and returns to Darling House in Sydney, Australia. Nora, who raised Jess for much of her childhood, suffered her fall when climbing to the attic

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kate-morton/homecoming-morton/

Homecoming - Kate Morton

Book Club Questions

THE CHARACTER’S JOURNEY

  1. Did you like Jess?

THE STORY PLOT

  1. What did you think happened to the Turner family?
  2. Did your theory change as the story progressed?
  3. Motherhood is an ongoing theme throughout the book. Did you judge Isabel, Meg, Polly or Nora based on your own opinions on what it means to be a mother?

THE ENDING

  1. Did it work for you? What would you have changed?
  2. What do you think is the author’s message to readers of Homecoming?
  3. What did you take away from the book?
  4. Are you left with any questions?

SYMBOLISM AND FORESHADOWING

  1. Did you notice any symbolism?
  2. What foreshadowing did you notice? 

THE WRITING

  1. Use one adjective to describe the writing itself.
  2. What would you change if you could rewrite Homecoming?

DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC

  1. What did you love most about the book?
  2. Did the book change any views/opinions that you have?

Homecoming - Kate Morton