[*Link to the original announcement thread*](https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/16nnmwn/the_rbooks_book_club_selection_ama_for_october_is/)
Hello everyone,
Welcome to the second discussion thread for the October selection, *My Heart is a Chainsaw* by Stephen Graham Jones! Hopefully you have all managed to pick up the book but if you haven’t, you can still catch up and join in on a later discussion; however, this thread will be openly discussing up though (and including) **Chapter 9: Happy Birthday to Me**.
Below are some questions to help start conversation; feel free to answer some or all of them, or just post about whatever your thoughts on the material.
1. What are some of your favorite characters, parts or quotes? Which parts did you find confusing?
2. In what way do characters contradict their archetypal Slasher roles? How does Jade observe or rationalize these contradictions?
3. How does Jade’s intervention and self-awareness of Slasher history complicate events? Why is she insistent on preparing Letha when she feels everything is so tropey as to be pre-ordained and inalterable?
4. What commentary does the story – and perhaps the author – suggest on the relationship between trauma and an affinity for horror? How do meta elements re-enforce this relationship?
5. What other questions or predictions do you have moving forward and what do you hope to see? Which unanswered questions are the most interesting to you?
6. BONUS: Would you want to see this novel adapted into a movie or television show? Would would you cast or want to direct/showrun?
Reminder that third discussion will be posted on Friday, August 20th and will cover up to and including Chapter 13: Final Exam.
by XBreaksYFocusGroup
1 Comment
So, the thing I mentioned last time about whether Jade might have been sexually abused became an explicit topic of discussion in the last chapter (which was called “Happy Birthday to Me” for reasons that I missed). It is clear that there is something to it, but, as we should expect, it isn’t going to be exactly what we expect. It is also clear that Jade is not being entirely honest about it. I thought it was interesting that the chapter ended with the sheriff, the teacher, and Letha saying to her “This is not over.” In the extra credit assignment that follows the chapter proper, Jade writes to Mr. Holmes something along the lines of “And now I’m going to tell you about red herrings” so that was another little confirmation that while we might be in the right forest, we are probably barking up the wrong tree—or maybe we shouldn’t be looking for fish in a tree?
It also seems like the author wants us to feel a little uncomfortable as readers about concerning ourselves so much about a young woman’s virginity even if it is motivated by concern about possible sexual abuse. In a sense, buying into this aspect of the slasher formula is setting Jade off in what seems like a wrong direction. The story she has in her head is misdirecting her in parallel with how the author is misdirecting us by implying that we should be reading this book within the expectations of the slasher formula, and it really feels like this is all going to be upended. It’s also curious that while Jade thinks that Letha is the main character, we “know” as readers that Jade is the main character because of the way the story follows her and reveals her interior life.
I was also interested that Mr. Holmes brought up the idea of rape-revenge movies. While Jade rejected the idea, the slasher template seems to only allow for 1) the slasher, 2) the victims, 3) the final girl, and 4) bystanders who don’t really understand what is going on, refuse to acknowledge what is going on or only do so too late, or those who are responsible in some way for the wrong committed against the slasher. By her own description, Jade doesn’t fit in any of these categories, so the idea that she could belong in another template is tempting. And the template itself is misdirecting Jade and the reader. I think the author is clearly going to have Jade “write” herself out of the slasher template but I don’t really have any idea how at this point.
Since the girl that was drowned in the lake was half Indian and there are not many other Indians in this story, I do wonder if there is meant to be a relation between her and Jade, maybe more metaphorical than real. There something here about trauma too that is interesting, how we mostly don’t get some magical catharsis for past traumas but rather usually find ways to live with them, for better or worse, and pass them on through the generations. I feel like this will tie in with the Native American context of the story, but not sure if it will be a big part of how the plot plays out or more of a subtext. I need to go back and re-read the bits dealing with the Lake Witch legends.
Just a little note that I skipped ahead and read the acknowledgements and it was the first time I truly enjoyed reading an acknowledgements section of a book. It was very human and compelling.