The latest book to join the ranks of the Booktopia Book Club is Into the Fire, a compelling story about power, guilt and womanhood from Aussie author Sonia Orchard.
Check out the blurb:
A year after her best friend died in a house fire, Lara can’t come to terms with the loss. Logic says there was no more she could have done to save the mercurial and unhappy Alice, but Lara can’t escape the feeling that she is somehow to blame for the tragedy.
She spends a weekend at the rebuilt house with Alice’s charismatic widower, Crow, and his three young children. Rummaging through the remains of their shared past, Lara reveals a friendship with Alice that was as troubled as it was intense. But beneath the surface is a darker, more unsettling secret waiting to be exposed.
Are you reading this book in your own book club? Check out these amazing questions from our friends at Affirm Press to help guide your discussion!
1. Into the Fire is concerned with power, particularly within close relationships. Who do you think holds the power in the relationships depicted between the four main characters?
2. At what point do you think Alice and Lara’s friendship began to break down? Was it ever truly a good friendship? 3. What did you think of Alice and Crow’s relationship as it progressed through the novel? Did your feelings change by the end?
4. Though the majority of the book follows the chronological story of Alice and Lara’s friendship, it is interspersed with the present-tense scenes of Lara during her visit to Crow’s place. Why do you think Orchard structured the novel in this manner?
5. While it could be argued that none of the characters in Into the Fire are entirely likeable, do you feel there was a true villain? If so, who?
6. ‘I didn’t realise it at the time but there was a parting of ways between Alice and me at that point, and for me it was Alice who was breaking the oath – the oath of feminism, of our friendship – not me.’ What do you think this book says about feminism and its place in everyday life?
7. How are Alice’s and Lara’s paths to motherhood different? What, if anything, do you think Orchard is suggesting about the impact that motherhood has on women’s lives?
8. ‘I stared at the drawing a moment, unsure what to say, embarrassed by my naiveté and earnestness – at the thought that I could have quietly snuck into his interior, poked around, unnoticed, and been able to unravel everything.’ It could be argued that Into the Fire is also Lara’s attempt to ‘poke around’ in the interiors of those around her. What do you think this says about her observations and the reliability of her insights?
9. Christian is described twice in the book as ‘a good man’, though Lara’s recollections of him don’t always match this description. What do you think makes a good man in the context of this book, and does anyone live up to that ideal?
10. ‘We were not the women we once were, and we were the ones who could best bear witness to that change. Sad as it was, it was easier, simply, to look away.’ This books asks how responsible we can and should feel towards others in our lives. Do you think Lara had a duty to intervene in Alice’s life?
11. The majority of the plot takes place in Melbourne between 1990 and 2006. What, if anything, do you think ties this story and its characters to such a specific time and place?
12. ‘I’d always treated individualism as the pathway to self-actualisation, but now I was beginning to wonder if individualism was actually just the most effective way of shoring up one’s place in the pack.’ Lara suggests that her decisions, though they appeared to show independence and individualism, were still made for other people. Do you think her assessment of herself is fair?
This exclusive edition is available at a special price for Booktopia Book Club members!*
To find out more about the Booktopia Book Club, click here
*Booktopia Book Club (BBC) Terms & Conditions:
You must be a Booktopia Book Club member to enjoy member-exclusive benefits, including being eligible to purchase exclusive Booktopia Book Club Editions at special prices.
To be a member of the Booktopia Book Club you need to have joined the Booktopia Book Club, have spent $30 or more in a single order on Eligible Products (excluding shipping fees) in the past 90 days, and agree to receive Book Club newsletters.
To be eligible to purchase exclusive Booktopia Book Club Editions you to have spent $30 or more in a single order on Eligible Products (excluding shipping fees) in the past 90 days whichever happens to be the later of the two.
Into the Fire
Exclusive Booktopia Book Club Edition
A year after her best friend died in a house fire, Lara can’t come to terms with the loss. Logic says there was no more she could have done to save the mercurial and unhappy Alice, but Lara can’t escape the feeling that she is somehow to blame for the tragedy.
She spends a weekend at the rebuilt house with Alice’s charismatic widower, Crow, and his three young children. Rummaging through the remains of their shared past, Lara reveals a friendship with Alice that was as troubled as it was intense...
What do we know about the Boy Swallows Universe Netflix show? 
Booktopia’s top thrilling fiction picks for Crime Month 
Booktopia’s Top First Nations Book Recommendations for 2023
Comments
No comments