The Woman in Cabin 10 - book club discussion thread

[ufcasey]

Today is the day for our seventh book club discussion! Ok, technically it was two days ago we should have had this discussion but in my defense I closed on my new house that day so book club completely slipped my mind LOL! Anyways, the book picked for this month was "The Woman in Cabin 10" by Ruth Ware

Just to help get you thinking, if you have a hard time figuring out what you want to say, there are some questions below provided by the wonderful aurora (thanks!). Like usual, you definitely don't have to answer any of them, they are just suggestions of things to potentially consider:



1. What’s the effect of having Lo’s emails and various news reports interspersed throughout Lo’s narration?

2. In what ways are Carrie and Lo alike?

3. After Lo’s flat is burglarized, she calls Velocity’s assistant features, editor, Jenn, and tells her about it. Lo says “I told her what happened, making it sound funnier and more farcical than it really had been” (p. 13). Why do you think Lo underplays the break-in?

4. When Lo first speaks to Richard Bullmer, she notices that he gives her “a little wink” (p. 79). What is the effect of this gesture? What were your initial impressions of Bullmer?

5. Richard Bullmer tells his guests, “The aurora borealis is something that everyone should see before they die” (p. 64). Would you travel to see the northern lights as the guests of the Aurora plan on doing?

6. What do you think about Pooh being Lo’s comfort book?

7. Do you think that the gaslighting that Lo experienced in the book was realistic? How did the gaslighting and her reaction to it impact your impression of her?


And here's a picture of my new house because why not?

[ufcasey]

Tagging people who might have read this book

packfan20, Blueper, monkeyfeet, Nonny, travella, brewco, spedrunner, nursewife, ally, dirtybella, RoxMonster, rainbowchip, minzy, Violet, aurora

[aurora]

Sweet! I wondered but I'm on family travel so figured I had just misremembered. I'll be back soon when I get to a computer.

Congrats on your house!

[rainbowchip]

Beautiful house ufcasey!

I've realized after reading the questions that I don't remember a lot of details about this book. I did enjoy it a lot. I usually have an idea of "who doneit" in these types of books but this time I had no idea.

[aurora]

1. What’s the effect of having Lo’s emails and various news reports interspersed throughout Lo’s narration?
I really liked the emails and news reports. I felt like they added some spice to the narrative and also made me think about what might be the alternative explanations. For example, when they talked about finding a second body, I had to stop and think whether it might be Lo, Anne, or the mystery woman (Carrie) (I didn't guess Richard Bullmer at that time).

2. In what ways are Carrie and Lo alike?
both somewhat traumatized by a man in their lives (Richard and the burglar), both still trying to do the right thing for the other.
But, I thought this was a bit of an odd question to find in the book club discussion questions because I really didn't see them as very similar overall.

3. After Lo’s flat is burglarized, she calls Velocity’s assistant features, editor, Jenn, and tells her about it. Lo says “I told her what happened, making it sound funnier and more farcical than it really had been” (p. 13). Why do you think Lo underplays the break-in?
because she is terrified and doesn't want to admit it to herself; admitting it to others would require admitting it to herself

4. When Lo first speaks to Richard Bullmer, she notices that he gives her “a little wink” (p. 79). What is the effect of this gesture? What were your initial impressions of Bullmer?
that he's a sleazy, entitled rich man. I never liked him. I always figured he married Anne for her money and was only keeping her around for the life insurance.

5. Richard Bullmer tells his guests, “The aurora borealis is something that everyone should see before they die” (p. 64). Would you travel to see the northern lights as the guests of the Aurora plan on doing?
I liked this question because the aurora is my namesake. Since I grew up with it, I wouldn't take a cruise specifically to see it, but I do still look for it when I visit Alaska during the dark season because it is so amazing. I recommend everyone to do so if they can!

6. What do you think about Pooh being Lo’s comfort book?
I apparently don't remember the Pooh story well enough to understand what this is about. Is it just that it is something from her childhood? Or is there some particular message in Pooh that adds to the WIC10 story that I missed?

7. Do you think that the gaslighting that Lo experienced in the book was realistic? How did the gaslighting and her reaction to it impact your impression of her?
I felt sad for her that she doubted herself so strongly and also that her situation (gaslighting) is so common among women.

[travella]

I enjoyed this book. I remember reading it very quickly and I rated it 4 stars. However, I don't remember many of the details.

I don't know that I want to see the Aurora Borealis as much as I would love to take my kids to see it. I remember seeing some gorgeous night skies when I was young and being mesmerized by it. I would love to see my kids have that same experience.

[ufcasey]

So I didn't really "get" this book. It started out so strong! I liked it all the way up to when she was talking to every female on the boat to see if they were the girl she saw in cabin 10. But then after that it started to not make sense. I mean, they knew she was asking around so why didn't Carrie just pretend to be a stowaway and quietly ask Lo in her room to stop looking for her, because she is ok and whatever Lo thought she heard she must have been wrong because Carrie's fine. Instead Carrie goes through these elaborate ways of trying to get Lo to stop asking questions by writing on the mirror fog, stealing Lo's phone, damaging Cole's camera, and then finally kidnapping Lo. And THEN they don't even kill her after they fake Lo leaving the boat - which didn't make sense because Lo could still be discovered and reveal everything. Then the ending - how did Carrie kill Richard? How did she access his accounts to steal it and transfer it to Lo? It just didn't seem possible for a former waitress or whatever she was.

[Nonny]

1. What’s the effect of having Lo’s emails and various news reports interspersed throughout Lo’s narration?

I liked that part, but I'm kind of a sucker for that type of thing in books in general, provided it's done well, which I think this was here.  Lo was kind of an abrupt drunk and really shitty at her job, so it was nice to get a perspective that wasn't hers.

2. In what ways are Carrie and Lo alike?

I also didn't think they were that alike.

3. After Lo’s flat is burglarized, she calls Velocity’s assistant features, editor, Jenn, and tells her about it. Lo says “I told her what happened, making it sound funnier and more farcical than it really had been” (p. 13). Why do you think Lo underplays the break-in?

I'm assuming it was because she was really scared and rattled by it, but didn't want to appear weak.  The break in was actually really weird to me; I kept expecting it to come back and be a part of the story later.

4. When Lo first speaks to Richard Bullmer, she notices that he gives her “a little wink” (p. 79). What is the effect of this gesture? What were your initial impressions of Bullmer?

It's been awhile since I read the book, I don't really remember this part at all.  I thought he was an ass, but I didn't really have him pegged as the killer because it seemed to obvious.

5. Richard Bullmer tells his guests, “The aurora borealis is something that everyone should see before they die” (p. 64). Would you travel to see the northern lights as the guests of the Aurora plan on doing?

I'm planning to see them some day, probably in Iceland.  Occasionally they get as far south as were I am (Seattle-ish) but it's too bright where I am, and I'm not usually up for a 2-3 am drive to go find a place.

6. What do you think about Pooh being Lo’s comfort book?

No opinion really.  I never read it as a kid, and I kind of hated the Winnie the Pooh cartoons.  It seems like a strange thing to bring along on a work trip though.

7. Do you think that the gaslighting that Lo experienced in the book was realistic? How did the gaslighting and her reaction to it impact your impression of her?
This seemed like the most real, and the only logical part of the book after Lo started looking into the mystery woman's disappearance. 

My Goodreads review had a huge rant similar to ufcasey's about how Carrie was incredibly stupid about how she handled Lo's inquiries into her existence.  If she'd just knocked on her door at 2 am and been like, "Ssshhh... I'm the girlfriend of a galley worker and I'm not supposed to be here, please don't rat on me." Lo would have just dropped the subject.  Her entire line of questioning was to find out if Carrie was OK because she was worried, and if she'd just seen that she was OK, she would have gotten over it. 

[monkeyfeet]

So it's been a while since I've read this too. I liked it fine and never thought about Carrie just telling lo she was fine. Did they throw someone else over?! What did lo hear that night? My memory is terrible. I kept thinking her ex was involved somehow.

I love to travel and would love to see the northern lights!!

[aurora]

Jul 28, 2017 13:27:26 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

So I didn't really "get" this book. It started out so strong! I liked it all the way up to when she was talking to every female on the boat to see if they were the girl she saw in cabin 10. But then after that it started to not make sense. I mean, they knew she was asking around so why didn't Carrie just pretend to be a stowaway and quietly ask Lo in her room to stop looking for her, because she is ok and whatever Lo thought she heard she must have been wrong because Carrie's fine. Instead Carrie goes through these elaborate ways of trying to get Lo to stop asking questions by writing on the mirror fog, stealing Lo's phone, damaging Cole's camera, and then finally kidnapping Lo. And THEN they don't even kill her after they fake Lo leaving the boat - which didn't make sense because Lo could still be discovered and reveal everything. Then the ending - how did Carrie kill Richard? How did she access his accounts to steal it and transfer it to Lo? It just didn't seem possible for a former waitress or whatever she was.

Yes - I had forgotten this but it's so unbelievable that not just 2 but 3 of them looked similar enough to use each other's passports.

[aurora]

Jul 28, 2017 21:31:41 GMT -5 monkeyfeet said:

So it's been a while since I've read this too. I liked it fine and never thought about Carrie just telling lo she was fine. Did they throw someone else over?! What did lo hear that night? My memory is terrible. I kept thinking her ex was involved somehow.

I love to travel and would love to see the northern lights!!

Carrie threw Anne Bullman over. Richard had told her Anne had died (she had terminal cancer) but Carrie wasn't sure, after the fact.

[minzy]

The book reminded me a bit of The Girl on the Train with the narrator's blackouts - you felt like you couldn't trust some of her perceptions at first. I didn't like how the reader just suddenly discovers some things - like, she's on this boat with a handful of people, one of whom, by the way, happens to be a significant ex. However, I guess it sort of amplified the main character's own sense of not really knowing what was going on. I also didn't really buy that the three women (one of whom was nearly dead from cancer), looked SO similar that they could all just pass for each other. I think Lo downplayed the break-in to the coworker because she still wanted to cover the trip and get her big break with the magazine. I would have liked a little more air time with the aurora borealis (I've seen it once and it was gorgeous) but being as that Lo was captive under the waterline for most of the week, what can you expect?

Congrats on the new house ufcasey; it's beautiful! We moved this week too. May the unpacking go smoothly!

[brewco]

Add me to the team of read this and hardly remember the details. I thought the book was ok. I was always skeeved out by any interactions with Richard. I don't think that Lo and Carrie are very similar. I did like the emails and news stories as part of the story, it definitely added mystery.

I would definitely travel to see the aurora! I've seen it a few times in northern Michigan but would love to see it again!

[expectantsteelerfan]

I also don't remember many of the details, but I do remember that I was severely disappointed in this book. Everything just seemed so far past the realm of what would be in any way remotely logical or possible in real life.

[Blueper]

It has been a while since I've read this for my book club- but I still have a general impression.  I really liked the author's writing style for the setting of the book and I had a great mental image of everything. I couldn't suspend my disbelief that Lo was chosen to go on this prestigious trip when it seemed like she have enough experience and it seemed like even before the mystery really kicked in she did not want to be there and also that no one noticed the difference between the wife and the girlfriend. It takes a lot for me to love a murder mystery, mostly because I get annoyed when so much relies on paying attention to small details like the wife's eye color. I think I gave it 2.5 stars and would only really recommend it for situations like a long flight where you have a huge chunk of time to finish it in a single setting.  

[aurora]

Aug 4, 2017 9:20:54 GMT -5 Blueper said:

It has been a while since I've read this for my book club- but I still have a general impression.  I really liked the author's writing style for the setting of the book and I had a great mental image of everything. I couldn't suspend my disbelief that Lo was chosen to go on this prestigious trip when it seemed like she have enough experience and it seemed like even before the mystery really kicked in she did not want to be there and also that no one noticed the difference between the wife and the girlfriend. It takes a lot for me to love a murder mystery, mostly because I get annoyed when so much relies on paying attention to small details like the wife's eye color. I think I gave it 2.5 stars and would only really recommend it for situations like a long flight where you have a huge chunk of time to finish it in a single setting.  

Just curious: why do you think mediocre mysteries are best read in a single setting? Is it so you don't have time to stop and think about the parts that don't add up?

[Blueper]

Aug 4, 2017 9:49:48 GMT -5 aurora said:

Aug 4, 2017 9:20:54 GMT -5 Blueper said:

It has been a while since I've read this for my book club- but I still have a general impression.  I really liked the author's writing style for the setting of the book and I had a great mental image of everything. I couldn't suspend my disbelief that Lo was chosen to go on this prestigious trip when it seemed like she have enough experience and it seemed like even before the mystery really kicked in she did not want to be there and also that no one noticed the difference between the wife and the girlfriend. It takes a lot for me to love a murder mystery, mostly because I get annoyed when so much relies on paying attention to small details like the wife's eye color. I think I gave it 2.5 stars and would only really recommend it for situations like a long flight where you have a huge chunk of time to finish it in a single setting.  

Just curious: why do you think mediocre mysteries are best read in a single setting? Is it so you don't have time to stop and think about the parts that don't add up?

I don't have many opportunities to finish a book in one go unless I am travelling, so I'll power through a book to help pass the time. I'm not willing to spend multiple days on a book that I'm not invested in since I usually only have an hour or so to read every day, and I generally feel overwhelmed by the amount of books that become available off of my library queue.  I don't mind spending time stewing on things that don't add up or being caught off guard by the ending, I just have to care first .