The Unknown

How does Sager’s use of dual timelines and embedded diary entries influence the reader’s understanding of reliability in the story?

How does the novel’s revenge plot complicate popular narratives of victimhood, solidarity, and justice for women in Hollywood? How might you relate this to the larger context of the #MeToo movement and Sager’s response to it?

Discuss the novel’s presentation of supernatural phenomena as a believable cover for mental illness and traumatic experience. Does this reflect larger sociocultural trends?

To what extent can Violet be seen as a sympathetic avenger, and at what point do her actions undermine her moral standing?

Does Marin remain a sympathetic character throughout the novel? How is this sympathy affected by her actions in the novel’s final chapters?

How does Marin’s character arc complicate the horror genre’s “final girl” trope?

Comment on the setting of New Avalon as a lens for discussing the power of mythmaking. How do myths affect the characters’ attitudes toward the island?

Beyond Violet’s plot and Daisy’s diary, how do characters use performance in smaller moments to negotiate power and construct their desired realities?