The Bowie Book Club discussion

Please mind the book part you are commenting on in order to avoid spoilers.

Hey, everyone! I will be this month's discussion leader. I am not unfamiliar with the task, since I'm also doing it in another group, but, please, feel free to help me out to make this discussion going.

Since this is a single-thread discussion, don't forget to use spoiler tags, so that we don't spoil the book for member who will read it later on. If you are not sure how to use the spoiler tags, open the "(some html is ok)" and take a look at the instructions, or just copy-paste them. :)

Enjoy reading!

Some pre-reading qustions for you:

1. Those of you have started the book already, what was your initial impression of the book, based on it's rather odd title? Did it pique your interest or not? What did you think it would be about, and did it meet your expectations so far?

2. The same questions can be applied to those of you who haven't started it yet. What is your initial impression based on the title and what do you think it will be about?

Has anyone started reading the book yet?

No, not yet but it is on my bedside table :-)

To answer to question 2: my initial impression based on the title of the book is "oh, Flaubert had a parrot! How interesting!". Generally writers have a cat or a dog as companion but a parrot. At the time of Bowie's death and the disclosure of his 100 top books, I was reading Flaubert's biography and I hadn't come across any parrot. Then, someday there he was, just in a sentence mentioning Flaubert talking to the bird. How intriguing that Barnes chose Flaubert's parrot to be the title of his book.

Oh, and I have never read anything by Barnes, so this is a premiere!

I've never even heard of Barnes before, much less that Flaubert had a parrot. :)

I've only read one chapter so far, as I'm shuffling work and a few more books, but it's very promising.

Discussion Questions - Chapter 1

(view spoiler)[

1. What do you think of the following quote?

Why does the writing make us chase the writer? Why can't we leave well alone? Why aren't the books enough? Do we think the leavings of a life contain some ancillary truth?

Have you ever developed an interest in a writer/an artist that might have been considered unhealthy? What did you do to satisfy your interest?

David Bowie was, for many, a star and an idol, a love interest, obsession. Do you think that he ever felt smothered by the excess of interest towards his life and career? Can it be felt in his work?

2. How do you feel about the following:

The point at which you suspect too much is being read into a story is when you feel most vulnerable, isolated, and perhaps stupid.

Did you ever find yourself in a situation like this, or thought somebody else did? How did you feel/What did you think?

3. Do you agree with the following quote? Yes/No. Why?

Is it better not to have the dreams, the work, and then the desolation of uncompleted work? We should prefer the consolation of non-fulfillment: the planned visit to the brothel, the pleasure of anticipation, and then years later, not the memory of deeds, but the memory of past anticipation? Wouldn't that keep it all cleaner and less painful? (hide spoiler)]

You are not in any way obliged to answer all questions (although it would be a great discussion booster). Choose the question(s) that appeal(s) most to you.

Discussion Question - Chapter 2

(view spoiler)[What do you think of Geoffrey's chronology of Flaubert's life? What does the type and quality of information say about Geoffrey himself? (hide spoiler)]

Discussion Question - Chapter 3

(view spoiler)[If anyone ever asks you what my letters contained or what my life was like, please lie to them. Or rather, since I cannot ask you of all people to lie, just tell them what it is you think they want to hear?

Do you follow closely a beloved celebrities' life (read letters, books, articles)? Do you believe everything you read/hear about them? Do you think that David Bowie would share Flaubert's wish? Can it be seen in any of his work? (hide spoiler)]

Flaubert's Parrot was such a great choice for our group to read so soon after Madame Bovary.....I've read this book before.....a great fan of Julian Barnes and his erudite whimsical prose.....what a wonderful companion piece to the great novel that I read for the first time in July.

I also think it was a great choice almost immediately after Madame Bovary. It was much more interesting to read about Flaubert after reading him major work.

This book was real good introduction to Barnes's work. A Wonderful writer. Never heard about him before either but now i', reading the third book from him. And probably the best book about... a book :)?

Which one is that, Anu?

So, how is the reading going? Have you found anything special in the story that piqued your interest?

I have yet to start reading it. Ok, I close GR and start the book!

It's a strange merging of fiction and non-fiction, isn't it? The narrator I assume is fictional but the subject Flaubert is not. But what is true and what is not? I feel that there are probably a number of literary references and in-jokes going right over my head!

It definitely is. I haven't read much about Julian Barnes, but I got a feeling that he put a bit of himself in the character of Geoffrey, if you look at the "non-fiction" part about Flaubert. To write a book with so much detail about a person's life, you have to be fascinated by the same.

I find this book fascinating even though I'm reading it in shots... The chapter on the correspondence with Julia Herbert is fascinating (again this word). It gives a total new perspective on Flaubert's personality. I don't know whether such correspondence ever existed, is only imagined or were there some letters. But, Julia Herbert did exist.

Page 48 in Vintage 1990 edition:

"If anyone ever asks you what my letters contained, or what my life was like, please lie to them. Or rather, since I cannot ask you of all people to lie, just tell them what it is you think they want to hear."

This struck a cord in me.