Menilmonea
By David Catuhe
From multi-award-winning author David Catuhe, dive into the enchanting saga of a young mycomanceress!
Menilmonea's life is guided by traditions, rituals, and legends, all centered around worship of the Mother. A mycomanceress, the young girl once received a gift connecting her to nature and mushrooms, though she views it more as a curse.
When the turtle Titan Tunka, protector of their village, fails to awaken from his slumber, Menilmonea and her friend Aureal set out in search of help from the neighboring frog Titan. But never did they expect to feel so shaken by the upheavals unraveling their world, which may well be on the verge of collapse... This marks the beginning of a journey of transformation in which the two friends must face revelations that could shatter everything they thought they knew about their world... and the very history of their people.
A coming-of-age fantasy novel that defies genre conventions and readerly expectations, Menilmonea skillfully weaves together belief, heritage, and the search for identity. Here, the adventure begins when you stop following the rules.
These discussion questions were provided by DartFrog Books.
Book club questions for Menilmonea by David Catuhe
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Menilmonea feels out of place in her village long before she understands why. How did your perception of what sets her apart change throughout the story? Did you see it as a burden, a gift, or both?
Menilmonea and Aureal approach curiosity, faith, and danger very differently. How do those differences shape their friendship? What does each of them bring out in the other?
Stories and legends shape life in the villages, and Menilmonea is herself a gifted storyteller. Where does the novel draw the line between stories that bring a community together and stories used to control it?
Reading this book with your club?
Access these questions right on your club's meeting page on Bookclubs — no more copy-pasting into a group text.
Create My ClubThe villagers have built their identities around the Mother, the Titans, and the promise of Ascension. Once the truth is revealed, does that make their earlier beliefs and experiences meaningless? Why or why not?
Were there clues that made you question the true nature of the Ascension before Menilmonea and Aureal discovered it? At what point did you begin to suspect that something was wrong?
Tunka genuinely loves and protects his village, yet he unknowingly helps uphold the system created by the Arkandians. By the end of the novel, did you see him primarily as a protector, a victim, or both?
The Traitor was rejected by his own people and condemned to die before turning his suffering into vengeance against them. Did you feel any sympathy for him? If so, where did that sympathy end?
The Arkandians treat the villagers as resources in order to preserve their own people. Did their desperation make their actions more understandable, or only more disturbing? What does the novel suggest about the relationship between knowledge, power, and morality?
Menilmonea treats plants and fungi as beings with choices of their own, even asking their permission before using them. How did this shape your view of her magic and of the natural world in the novel?
After defeating the Traitor, Menilmonea and Aureal must decide how much of the truth to reveal to their people. Do you think they should tell the villagers everything immediately, or protect them from some of it? What would you do in their position?
Menilmonea wonders whether her people’s newly extended lives are a gift or a curse. What might freedom mean to a society whose beliefs, lifespan, and sense of purpose have all changed at once?
By the end of the novel, Menilmonea and Aureal have saved their people but opened the door to a much larger and more dangerous world. Which unresolved question or conflict were you most eager to see explored next?
Menilmonea Book Club Questions PDF
Download a printable PDF of these discussion questions to bring to your meeting.