Mister Pip

Mister Pip was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2007, which first drew me in. At just about 300 pages, it carries real weight. Set in the 1990s on a tropical island torn by civil war, most residents flee and a single teacher remains.

The narrator, 13 year old Matilda, tells her story in a haunting, memorable voice. Her eccentric teacher reads Great Expectations aloud to the children in what is left of their schoolhouse. That simple act of storytelling unites and divides the community and surfaces big themes that feel insightful and inspiring.

In a novel that is at once intense, beautiful, and fablelike, Lloyd Jones weaves a transcendent story that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the power of narrative to transform our lives. On a copper rich tropical island shattered by war, where the teachers have fled with most everyone else, only one white man chooses to stay behind: the eccentric Mr. Watts, object of curiosity and scorn, who sweeps out the ruined schoolhouse and begins to read to the children each day from Charles Dickens's Great Expectations.

As artillery echoes in the mountains, thirteen year old Matilda and her peers are riveted by the adventures of a young orphan named Pip in a city called London, a city whose contours soon become more real than their own blighted landscape. As Mr. Watts says, A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. Soon the rest of the villagers arrive, first threatened, then inspired to share tales of their own that bring alive the rich mythology of their past. But in a ravaged place where even children must live by their wits and survival is the only objective, imagination can be a dangerous thing.

1. Is it important that Mr. Watts is the last white man on the island. Why.

2. Why does Matilda write Pip's name in the sand alongside her relatives' names. Why does this upset her mother. How does this shape Dolores's feelings about Mr. Watts's teaching. Are those feelings understandable.

3. Why do you think Mr. Watts pulled his wife in the cart. Why did he wear the red clown nose. What meaning did that have for them.

4. What is the message in the story of the mother's braids. How does it relate to Mr. Watts's faith in God.

5. What did you think of the lessons the mothers bring to the classroom. If you were a parent in Matilda's class, what lesson would you teach. What might your mother have taught.

6. Who is Dolores warning the children about in the devil lady story. How does this justify her actions regarding the book and the redskins. Do you agree with Dolores's refusal to bring forth the book. With Matilda's.

7. Where do you think Gilbert's father takes Sam. How do you know. Was it necessary.

8. Why does the corned beef in Mr. Watts's house represent a broad hope for Matilda. Discuss Mr. Watts's reaction to Matilda's fragment. Do you believe Grace was alive when Matilda arrived.

9. How do characters in this story struggle to reconcile race and identity. Does it guide how they interact. How does it shape their sense of self. What moments revealed this for you.

10. What is the meaning of the Queen of Sheba story. Why does Mr. Watts bring it up. Why is it significant that Dolores knows that story.

11. Why does Dolores step forward to declare herself God's witness to Mr. Watts's murder. Were you surprised. Why does she insist Matilda remain silent.

12. Do you think Matilda was able to return home. How would that outcome affect your reading of both novels.

13. Share a memorable time you were read to as a child. What book made the greatest impact. Did a book ever come at exactly the right time, as Great Expectations does for Matilda.

14. Are Mister Pip and Great Expectations both universal coming of age tales. How did you react to blending these two different settings and times.

15. The opening lines of Great Expectations echo through Mister Pip. Compare those first sentences. What connections do they draw between themes in both novels.

16. In what ways are the narrative voices of Mister Pip and Great Expectations the same. How are they different. What shifts after Matilda leaves the island, and how did that change your reading.

17. How is Dolores's treatment of Matilda similar to Estella's treatment of Pip. Does that help Matilda understand Pip's attachment to Estella. Does that attachment need to break before Pip or Matilda can grow.

18. Why might Mr. Watts omit Orlick and Compeyson from his telling. What meaning might the class have gained if those characters and arcs were included.

19. What is signified by changing one's name in both novels. Why does Matilda keep hers.

20. How does Great Expectations help Matilda cope and prepare for the future. How does it help Mr. Watts face his past. Why is it the ideal Dickens choice here.

This book opens many avenues for discussion. The island's civil war unfolds largely unseen by the wider world. The story shows the positive impact one man has on a community facing atrocities and highlights the resilience of the human spirit. Themes include morality, ethics, race, and the parent child relationship. Most of all it shows the power of reading . . . the bond between teacher and pupil, curiosity sparked, and a lasting love of books.