The Russians

What did you think of Tolstoy's portrayal of the Russians, in general? Do you think it's odd considering that Tolstoy himself fought on their side in the Caucasus?

Hadji Murad

What kind of person was Hadji Murad? Tolstoy painted a fairly sympathetic portrait, I think, of a man devoted to God and his family, and yet Murad was unquestionably also a violent killer.

Kim's pick

I've been wanting to read this and was happy to discover that it's novella length! Does Dec. 10 work for everyone?

Murder?

Did you have a sense behind Gillian's final actions at the Harrow household -- drugged accident? Justifiable homicide? Plain old murder? What did Gillian think she did?

The haircut

Why did Gillian cut her hair -- did she need some ruse to get back into the Harrow household? Did it symbolize her femininity or independence in some regard? Related, I think: Why the heck did she want back in once she discovered what the Harrows wanted with her?

Paris

What's the Paris connection? The book opens there, at the Louvre with Gillian looking at British Columbian totem poles, and ends there, with Gillian and her college friend (Dominique? what is that relationship now?). One of Gillian's first clues that her relationship with Dorcas and Andre wasn't what she thought it was, was when she discovered that she was not invited to join them in Paris but had to look after their house and beastly parrot instead. And Dorcas is French. Does Gillian's being in France all those years later simply remind her of the events with them, or is there a deeper French connection?

D.H. Lawrence

So Andre was a champion of D.H. Lawrence. I'm afraid I've read very little by this author -- "Women in Love." And a short story. Does that add anything to his character for you? I think all I could take was that idea of the untroubled pursuit of physical pleasure, but warped in Andre and Dorcas' beastly ways.