Book Club Discussion: The Light Pirate

[ufcasey]

Welcome to the book club discussion about The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton.

Below are some discussion questions, please feel free to answer any/all/none of them. As always, just expressing your opinions/impressions about the book is also great!

Optional questions:

1. When confronted “with the rage of a man left behind by civilization” outside what used to be a post office, it occurs to Phyllis that teaching Wanda how to survive the people who stayed in Rudder is paramount. As the novel progresses, we see examples of both the danger and the necessity other people pose to Wanda. What were your thoughts on this conundrum? 

2. The twins (Corey and Brie/Bird Dog) are two very different kinds of people. How do you reconcile their shared childhood with the adults they grew up to be?

3. The italicized interludes that accompanied each section of the book --- power, water, light and time --- are focused on different elements. What did you take away from these passages? Did they change the way you thought about the landscape these characters inhabited?

4. At the end of the novel, the author presents an epilogue set during Wanda’s old age. What did you think of Wanda and Bird Dog’s treehouse community on the water? What did you take away from this glimpse of Wanda’s future?

5. How did you feel about Wanda's father and brother as they tried to raise her during this tumultuous time? 

6. There were several deaths in this book - which one impacted you the most as a reader?

7. How did you feel about Wanda's 'supernatural' power?

[ufcasey]

Tagging people who may have read this book:
travella, dearprudence, 1yeartogo, Vespasia, aurora

[charlatti]

These questions make me realize I should reread this — I read it in January when I was still very deep in grief for my mom, so I don’t think I got as much out of it as I would otherwise have. I remember loving Phyllis’s character. I think the pregnant mom’s death at the very start of the book was the most harrowing.

[travella]

I read this book last year. I really enjoyed it, however it did give me horrible nightmares while reading it.

1. When confronted “with the rage of a man left behind by civilization” outside what used to be a post office, it occurs to Phyllis that teaching Wanda how to survive the people who stayed in Rudder is paramount. As the novel progresses, we see examples of both the danger and the necessity other people pose to Wanda. What were your thoughts on this conundrum?

I have no doubt that surviving others would be a necessary skill during times when resources are scarce and everyone is trying to survive. Everyone will take a different approach to difficult times- pulling together with others to form a community, violence, giving up, etc. Knowing who you can trust could mean the difference between survival and death.

4. At the end of the novel, the author presents an epilogue set during Wanda’s old age. What did you think of Wanda and Bird Dog’s treehouse community on the water? What did you take away from this glimpse of Wanda’s future?

I don't recall the details of the ending very well, but I remember feeling like Wanda was successful at creating a viable community. It gave me a sense of hope that humanity could adapt and survive in such apocalyptic times.


6. There were several deaths in this book - which one impacted you the most as a reader?

I think I was most moved by the death of Wanda's father.

7. How did you feel about Wanda's 'supernatural' power? I was a little confused about her power. I was hoping that her power would be better explained or be larger part of the story at some point. Was it ever explained? Did I miss it?

[dearprudence]

I think 1 and 2 are very related questions in that people tend to go one of two ways.

Phyllis was always a bit of a recluse and I wouldn't doubt that being a woman in a STEM field played into that, as well as having less trust in humanity. It's easy to imagine her colleagues mocking her, not taking her seriously, forcing her to depend on herself. And honestly, that served her pretty well, but once she got involved with Wanda's family she wasn't really alone.

Corey and Brie/Bird Dog are the opposite of Wanda in that they are both dependent on other people, and despite their different endings are very much the same in that respect. We give Bird Dog a thumbs up because she uses others with their consent and Corey just takes, but both were raised with the inability to survive independently.

[ufcasey]

Whoops, forgot to come here and post my own thoughts on this book!

Here's the review I put in Goodreads:

As a Floridian, reading this book was a bit disturbing in how realistic it is. The setting is a Florida in the near future where the extreme weather results in the state slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature. But despite the climate-change inspired dystopian setting, this book really is a character study novel more than anything. So if you’re the kind of person who needs an action driven plot, this book might not be for you. Personally I love novels like this, though I did wish the one magical- realism element had been explained or expanded upon further.


In general I found the deaths of Wanda's mother, father, and the brother she never met to all be very heartbreaking in their suddenness. For her brother that did survive I wondered what happened to him though I thought the plot line of him going off to college was weird. The reason why he chose to stay away made sense but going off to college when the world is practically ending? Wouldn't be me. Especially when you already have a vitally important job which is needed and requires skill - perfect for a dystopian hellscape-esque reality. Bird dog I was happy to have introduced because some lightness (figuratively not literally) was needed in this book. I really did wish that Wanda's powers were explored further. Phyllis I thought was an interesting character because she very prepared and very knowledgeable about survival skills but even that wasn't enough to keep her safe in the end. I thought it was a very interesting book overall, maybe living in Florida helped with that, but I would be interested in reading another book by this author.

[aurora]

I liked the book but it was pretty sad. And also somewhat scary as we tackle climate change and it feels more realistic for more of Florida to be underwater.

I definitely felt for Wanda and her family as they list each other.

I admit I didn't really get the light stuff and think the book would have been just as good without it. But I was listening to the audiobook so maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention. 😄