We have a very active online inventory and as such, we can receive multiple orders for the same item. We have over 1 Million books for sale on our website and another 1 Million books for sale in our 3 locations. Wonder Book and Video has been in business since 1980 and online since 1997. Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Picador.Īny page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.With 3 stores less than 1 hour outside the DC/Metropolitan area (1 in Gaithersburg, 1 in Frederick and 1 in Hagerstown, MD), we have the largest selection of books in the tri-state area. Why is it sometimes good to suspend rational thinking? Is it harmful to believe in magic? Discuss the magician who performs beautiful feats in chapter ten.What will Bessie remember about this episode in her life? How does Nicolas illness unfold as seen through the eyes of a child?.What accounts for the different approaches people have to their final days: those who accept death versus those who fight it? Nicola bitterly resists hospice or any other signal that she has run out of options.When is it acceptable to turn someone away? Which guests must be welcomed, no matter what? Discuss the notion of hospitality and culture.How did it affect your reading to see that the author and main character are both called Helen and are both writers?

The reality of certain deeply troubling emotions, particularly anger, that she has experienced while caring for dying people whom she loved. She has said that she used her own name because she wanted to acknowledge

Though The Spare Room is a novel, Helen Garner is often asked why she and the narrator have the same name.What is the best measure of a life? What sorts of 'families' do we create for ourselves through friendships? Discuss the two kinds of lives illustrated by Nicola and Helen. In chapter seven, Nicola fears that she has wasted her life, comparing herself to Helen, who isĬlose to her family.How would you describe the friendship between Helen and Nicola? Are they compatible in very many ways? Are they honest with each other? Which friend would you turn to in a similar situation?.How does Helen Garner balance humor with the raw reality faced by her characters?.What is universal about the way humans handle their own mortality? At what point is NicolaĪble to accept that her illness is terminal? Is it better to know the outcome of our lives, with an opportunity for a long goodbye?.What are its rewards, and its difficulties? Would you have allowed a friend like Nicola to stay with you until the very end? Discuss your own experiences with caregiving.Beyond the guest room in Helens home, are there other images the title The Spare Room brings to mind? How much room, energy, and patience does the narrator, Helen, have to spare?.

The spare room novel