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Fourteen Days
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants--some of whom have barely spoken to each other--become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't escape when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming, and ultimately surprising narrative, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger.
Includes writing from: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De'Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer!
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Book club questions for Fourteen Days by Douglas Preston, Margaret Atwood and The Authors Guild
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
How did you like the collaborative novel idea using multiple writers to develop each of the characters?
On day 6 the theme of trauma reoccurs in Ramboz story of Vietnam, Blackbeard’s story of the lieutenant in Iraq, and Eurovision's rabbit story. Do you agree with the idea of how shared trauma brings people together? Explain your answer. Can you give an example where you witnessed this idea of “rabbit trauma?
Amnesia tells the story of The Truth Goddess granting the two sisters one wish each.Frannie asked that she never be lied to again. People either told the truth or said nothing. Tara asked for a spell that when someone lied to her that lie automatically became true. Both girls discovered that their wishes became burdensome after a while. Do you agree that it is not always a good idea to tell the truth? (Day 8)
What comparisons can you make between the Plague during the 1500’s and Covid in 2020?
On day 12 a young couple started holding “classical literature” readings about prior plagues using famous writers from the past such as Bocccacccio, Chaucer, Shakespeare and Defoe in an attempt to foster discussion about comparing the two plagues. The discussion took an unexpected turn leading to multiple comments on the division between classes, racism, and sexism. Do you agree with the participants' reactions, and cite an example from the chapter to support your opinion?
Who do you think is the old woman in La Cocinera’s story? And why do you think she called the tenants “mis hijos?” (Day 8 and Day 14)
What do you think the purpose was for Margaret Atwood’s “Spider Girl” story? (Day 10)
How do the blues song ‘The Midnight Special,” and the characters Rosie and Ghost Cracker relate to the pandemic experience? Why did the author choose that song? (Day 12)
On Day 14 one character shares the idea that being forgotten is more frightening than death. She goes on to share the process for being forgotten until there is no one left alive to share your stories. How does this story relate to the COVID pandemic and the characters in the novel?
“The year 1968 was my coming of age. It defined my generation. When you're a kid, life feels like the beginning of an Impossible Dream, new and wonderful and full of promise- but then you grow up and you realize it’s all shit. We had awoken from childhood to find ourselves in a boat piloted by madmen and scoundrels, tossed on dark seas, adrift and bewildered without a chart.” (page 139) He goes on to say“ Nothing has changed. Look at our world today. Look at our leadership” Do you agree with Romboz?
Fourteen Days Book Club Questions PDF
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