47 pages 1 hour read

Perfect Strangers

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Book Club Questions

General Impressions

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of mental illness, illness, death, violence, and sexual content.


Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.


1. How did you feel about the book’s plot twists, like James’s ALS diagnosis, his career as an assassin, or Olivia’s time at the psychiatric hospital? How did the final twist in the Epilogue impact your overall opinion of the novel?


2. The book incorporates the elements of many genres: romance, erotica, mystery, and thrillers, for example. Which aspects were appealing and which were off-putting to you? 


3. Compare Perfect Strangers to other novels you have read in the romance or mystery genres, like Colleen Hoover’s Verity or Inheritance by Nora Roberts. How do your other reading experiences in these genres compare to your experience reading this novel?

Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.


1. How did you feel about the metafictional aspect of the book? That is, how did the references to writing and creating make-believe stories enhance or take away from your enjoyment of the novel?


2. Consider the way that the characters talk about gender and sexuality. How does their dialogue correspond to your view of sexuality and gender?


3. The novel explores the blurred boundaries between fiction and reality, focusing on the way in which we shape our own stories. Have you ever consciously shaped a part of your personal story while telling it?


4. The narrative features three distinct portraits of Olivia. Have you ever had the experience of different circumstances changing or shaping your identity?

Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.


1. Discuss the novel’s adherence to and subversion of romance genre conventions, including gender stereotypes. How does its treatment of sex and gender reflect modern discussions on the topic? 


2. Consider the novel’s representation of mental illness and discuss your reaction to it. How does it intersect with contemporary discussions on the topic? 


3. How do Olivia and James’s sexual experiences both push the boundaries of sex while also adhering to issues of consent? Discuss how the novel’s descriptions of their sexual experiences enter the conversation about sex and consent in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.


1. Discuss the narrative’s structural organization of the frame story within another frame. How does it, and the accompanying plot twists, affect the thematic meanings of the novel? 


2. What makes Olivia a relatable protagonist? Describe her traits in the fantasy and her reality, considering the ways in which her character changes as well as those characteristics that remain constant. 


3. Why does Olivia’s fantasy take place in Paris? How does the setting accelerate her dramatic romance?


4. How does the graphic representation of sex emphasize the themes of the novel? How does the theme continue in the psychiatric hospital and Olivia’s reality? 


5. What does Ernest Hemingway symbolize in the story? What parts of Hemingway’s image do the characters leave out?

Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.


1. In the Epilogue, Olivia and Estelle speculate on the movie adaptation of her novel. If you were in charge of the adaptation, what changes would you make? Would you keep the linear structure? Would you modify some of the characters?


2. Put together a reading list based on the book. Include books mentioned in the story and other books that relate to Geissinger’s multi-genre novel. For example, why might Robert Cormier YA novel I Am the Cheese (1977) or Bessie Head’s A Question of Power (1974) belong on your list?


3. Setting aside the Epilogue, what would happen in a sequel to Perfect Strangers? Would Olivia still be alive? If Olivia is dead, how might Geissinger expand upon the people at the psychiatric center, Kelly, or Chris? How could Chris become relatable or more redeemable?


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