A book club member said 'the main character deserved her fate' and it split our group

We read a thriller last month where the lead made some really bad choices. At our meeting, one person flat out said 'she deserved what she got' because she ignored so many warnings. Half the group agreed, saying she was foolish. The other half, including me, argued that the book was about how society fails women in danger. It got pretty heated for a Tuesday night. Has your club ever had a big split over judging a character's actions?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan7751mo ago

Oh man, do we ever pick books where the main character is just a walking bad decision? Last year we read one where this guy kept going back into his obviously haunted attic, like, nightly. We spent an hour arguing if he was brave or just the dumbest guy alive. I was on team 'dumbest guy alive' and almost got my wine glass thrown at me. Good times.

caseyl181mo ago

Ha, my book club nearly broke up over a love triangle.

maryp181mo ago

We had a huge fight over a character who kept trusting a clearly shady guy. Some said she was naive and asking for trouble. Others said she was just lonely and the writing showed how easy it is to be fooled. It turned into a whole thing about victim blaming. My friend didn't talk to me for a week.

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