Joanna Stich

If you are part of a Book Club and need Book Club Discussion Points for The Invitation by Lucy Foley, look no further. We have read this book in our book club few months back and I was surprised by the lack of available discussion points/questions for this particular read. It seems to be the up and coming book, there is a lot of noise about it these days. For this reason I have put together discussion points for you below.

Overview

The book portrays a love story between Hal, an English journalist who moved to Rome to escape his somewhat ‘hard to live with’ family and Stella. Stella… Hal meets Stella at a party thrown by the Contessa. They immediately catch a spark and spend the night together, however when Hal wakes up he realises Stella is gone and he doesn’t even know her last name. Hal realises this was most likely a one night type of an encounter, until he meets Stella a year later aboard Contessa’s yacht. This is where their story continues, as they travel along the Italian coast en route to Cannes Film Festival. What Hal doesn’t know, is that Contessa’s Film is being financed by no other but Stella’s husband…

The Invitation Book Club Questions:

• The author using her writing attempts to take you, the reader to Italy. Does she succeed? If not, why?
• Out of all of the characters aboard the yacht, whose secret is the biggest? Why?
• Why do you think the Contessa really invited Hal on the journey? What was her motive?
• Why does the Contessa feel the need to rescue everyone?
• What do Stella and Hal have in common?
• What do you think of Stella and Truss’ relationship?
• Why is Stella’s husband so obsessive?
• Which character can you identify with and why?
• If you could change a part of the plot, what would you change?
• Do you think that by reading the captain’s journal, Hal’s reality becomes distorted?
• What would you like to see happen after the book ends?
• Would you recommend this book? Yes/No, why?
• Having read this book, would you be interested in reading more of this author’s books? Why? Why not?

These questions cover the main aspects of the book and leave room for interpretation and further discussion. If this book is on your book club’s radar, I would love to hear your feedback about the questions and maybe you’d have questions of your own?

If you are looking to join a book club, our Virtual Vancouver Book Club is always looking for new members, details of which you can find here.

For another book recommendation and book club questions, take a peak at one of my past articles here.

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