The Other Catherine Book Club questions

Discussion points and book club questions

1. Learning to live with grief is a key theme in this book. Do Keita and Catherine’s insights resonate with you?
2. What are the similarities between Keita as a young woman and Little Kitty? What are the differences?
3. Who is to blame for William’s death?
4. Private Barclay talks often about his mother, as does Abraham. Are men more likely to idealise their mothers than women are?
5. Abraham tells Keita that Catherine was a lady’s maid, not a convict. Do you think he was lying to Keita, or was lied to himself?
6. Have you noticed the different ways of telling the time? How does this link the two narratives and how does it relate to the theme of telling stories?
7. The story of Catherine touching the whale lasted long after Catherine died and became an established truth. Do you have any family stories yourself that have lasted like this — and ones you suspect are not actually true? Why do you think stories last in this way?
8. While on the subject of stories, how many different types of stories did you notice being mentioned?
9. Eleanor quotes Thomas Hobbes’ view that life is ‘nasty, brutish and short’. Do you think that was the case for the women in the novel?
10. Moses fought in the 1845–1846 battle of Ruapekapeka. Do you think he fought for his iwi, or on the side of the British Crown?
11. In writing this book, the author drew from details of the lives of two of her ancestors. Which of your ancestors would you like to know more about, and why?
12. If only one photograph was to exist of you in the future, which would you select, and why?