The Godmothers book club notes

With a whole new set of marvelous characters to become acquainted with, The Godmothers is about the families we are born into and the families we make for ourselves. The story follows Eliza Miller, who takes up an enticing invitation from one of her godmothers and finds herself in the midst of a complicated family in Edinburgh. This moving book will transport you and your book club pals from Australia to Scotland, Ireland and England as Eliza seeks to solve the biggest mystery of all – who is her father? Use the questions below to get the conversation started at your next meet-up.

Discussion points and questions:

• When Eliza loses her job, Gillian tells her, ‘I’m doing you a favour.’ Does this prove to be true?
• In what ways are Maxie and Olivia the opposite of ‘wishy-washy’ godmothers?
• Eliza says there isn’t a ‘label’ for Sullivan, but what is it about him that makes him special, do you think?
• Why was it so hard for Olivia to ask Celine to leave?
• Despite their best intentions, do you think it was right for Olivia and Maxie to withhold the truth about Jeannie from Eliza for all those years? What would you have done in the same situation?
• Olivia tries not to mourn too much for the past and lost moments with Edgar. Is she successful in that?
• Eliza, too, has coping strategies for dealing with the loss of her loved one, by bringing out the ‘jukebox of Jeannie tales, her playlist of happy memories’. What other ways might people handle the pain of losing a beloved family member to death or dementia?
• What role does the box of postcards play in Eliza’s recovery?
• Can a godmother be any sort of replacement for a real mother?
• Can godchildren replace children in a woman’s life, as in Olivia and Maxie’s case with Eliza?
• Do you understand why Emmet chooses not to tell the rest of his family about Eliza?
• Jeannie had never wanted a conventional life for herself or for her daughter. Do you think she would be happy with how things turned out for Eliza?
• Emmet believes that ‘family life is sometimes more about pretending to get on than actually getting on’. Discuss.
• Which is your favourite fictional family of Monica McInerney’s?