Penguin Books Australia

Book Club Notes for The Rainy Season by Myfanwy Jones

Summary

In Myfanwy Jones' book The Rainy Season, Ella arrives in Saigon as a single girl on a trip meant for two. Abandoned by her adored boyfriend and haunted by the mystery of her absent Vietnam veteran father, she loses herself in coconut rum and easy ex-pat friends.

Sharing fractured pasts and uncertain futures, Ella begins to feel at home in a landscape scarred by war and betrayal. Hope is gradually returning to Vietnam. Hearts and minds are opening, and Ella finds herself falling in love with handsome French photographer Ariel. But will the heavy tropical rains be enough to wash away the ghosts of the past?

'The Rainy Season charts the most delicate shifts ion pressure - of the heart, of the weather, of a city - a superbly atmospheric and deeply empathetic novel.'
Sophie Cunningham, author of Geography and Bird.

About the author

Myfanwy Jones worked in Vietnam for two years in the mid-1990's as a journalist and sub-editor for the Saigon Times and the Vietnam Investment Review. Since returning to Australia she has received a number of writing awards and had several short stories published. The Rainy Season is her first novel.

 Book Club Discussion Questions

 1. Why does Ella choose to proceed with her trip to Vietnam alone when she is clearly devastated by Tim's leaving? What does she hope to discover there?

 2. Vietnam is in a state of chaos and change, not dissimilar to Ella's internal state. How do the two intersect and how is Ella changed by being in this environment?

 3. Ella is befriended by hotel receptionist Hien and small businessman Hugh. What do all three characters share and how do they affect one another?

 4. Ella goes through a process of self-annihilation before she is able to start rebuilding her life. Why does she behave this way? Did you sympathise with her plight?

 5. Echoes of war and loss are felt throughout the novel. What does the novel say about Australia's treatment of Vietnam Vets? How does the past impact upon the present in this story and also how does the present alter perceptions of the past?

6. There is a strong emphasis on food in The Rainy Season; what do you think it represents?

7. Ella had an isolated childhood with her alcoholic mother and has a great fear of being alone and yet she sabotages her relationship with Ariel. What does Ella need to learn in order to open herself up to love again? What happens to Ella at the nunnery?

8. Ella's mother withheld information from her ostensibly in order to protect her. Do you sympathise with the difficulties Ella's mother faced and the choices she made?

9. The father in the story is a shadowy character who is both absent and all-important. What changes during the novel in Ella's feelings about him and how important is it to the story that she actually find him?

10. Many adult children of Vietnam Vets, such as Ella and Hugh, are drawn to 'go back' to Vietnam. What does this say about the long reach of war and what role might the second generation play in healing old wounds?