BKMT READING GUIDES
Oblivious
by Cyndia Depre
Paperback : 280 pages
1 club reading this now
1 member has read this book
Introduction
One dead body sets an entire town in search of the killer of a kinky professor, but none more fervently than Olivia Chatham. She enlists her best friend Josie and the "boyfriend" of the deceased, Tucker Monroe, who, it turns out, was only a casual acquaintance. Tucker soon realizes Livvy is unique. She's kind, giving, clever and the queen of malapropisms, but he wonders if she doesn't know exactly what she means. Her gathering of clues is astounding and points them in the right direction. It also puts them in danger. They're drawn to each other, but Olivia only sleeps with men she's married to, and has three ex-husbands to prove it, one of whom is a primary suspect. Participants in a secondary love story bring important clues that get them in even more troubleh her.Eccentric Olivia Chatham has found her life's calling. Crime buster. Tucker Monroe, the small Wisconsin town's mysterious new resident, discovers he, too, has a mission. Keeping up with her.Eccentric Olivia Chatham has found her life's calling. Crime buster. Tucker Monroe, the small Wisconsin town's mysterious new resident, discovers he, too, has a mission. Keeping up with her.
Excerpt
Chapter OneShe was born in April, but her parents named her January. By the following morning they had second thoughts and changed the forms. Now, nearly thirty years later, Olivia, nee January, Chatham slipped an emerald green dress over her head and wiggled her hips to adjust it. The top half of the silk and satin sheath fit like a second skin. The skirt flared just below her waist and ended primly at the middle of her knees. Olivia studied her reflection in the mirror, twisting right and left as she tried to see if it made her behind look big. The phone interrupted her inspection. ...
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Discussion Questions
1) Is Olivia believable? Could someone be that innocent in this day and age?2) Could a town like Chatham exist in 2008?
3) Would you rather be Olivia or know her? Or neither?
4) Would Tucker really be attracted to Olivia? (5) Was there a message in the novel?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Oblivious began as a way for me to vent frustration by turning it into laughter. It never occurred to me to submit it for publishing. Because it was, I thought, for my eyes only, I let my imagination go wild. What if a murder happened in a small, modern-day, Mayberry-style town? What if the most popular woman in the community, a ball of energy with a heart of gold, applied her unique form of logic to the mystery and tried to solve the crime? As with much of what happens in Oblivious, the name of the heroine popped into my head out of the blue. Olivia Chatham was just there, complete with a face, birthday, age, history, voice…as real as if she sat next to me. Tucker Monroe and Josephine Bookman soon joined us. Due to a series of coincidences, I showed what I had to some people. When they asked for more, and then more, I had to reassess. Maybe others do have my sense of humor. Maybe I'm not alone in my love of the absurd and enjoyment of a silly twist to a normal event. Before long I found myself working on Oblivious as a 'real' novel. If people smile as they read Oblivious, I'll be thrilled. I also hope a message of acceptance comes through in the novel. We are all flawed. Every last one of us. Thank goodness! How boring it would be if we were perfect and alike. In my opinion, our foibles make us individuals.Book Club Recommendations
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