Book Club Ideas
This blog provides a few ideas as potential themes for book clubs.
Individual Responsibility
Throughout Tunnel Vision, individual responsibility is foundational. Club members might focus on the “taker-maker” concept, the interviews of the five young folks regarding the education mandate, George Zhong’s life story, Rosie Savard’s commitment to good answers while downplaying nuance.
Good Persons
Oscar One-Page de Lona crafted the Good Persons Act which anchors the actions of the villagers along the Soul Star line. It governs all manner of incidents in personal and working situations and relies on the common sense of the common people. The crafting of the Act, the Tom Cairns conspiracy, and tin can accident with Tack illustrate big and small incidents that can be dealt with by peers without blowing the situation out of proportion. High profile incidents like a franchise owner evidencing racial bias and a highly capable CBC personality implicated in rough sex would have a vehicle for plausible resolution if the Good Person Act were in effect. Large institutions would still be vulnerable to public criticism but they would, at least, have a process to illustrate the perceptions of the peer group.
Characterization
My preferred style downplays description. Some readers prefer more characterization. I hope Brett Larson, Oscar One Page, Beth Ragouski, Thompson Miller, Oat’s Wolf, Hymie Friedenberg and Rosie Savard all resonate and are distinctive. Book Club members might weigh in on the characterizations and idiosyncrasies of Brett’s thumb up, Oscar’s pencil in the ear, Beth’s cynicism, Thompson’s stability, Oat’s leap of faith, Hymie’s “isn’t it” tag-line, and Rosie’s full-on approach. All of these folks have good morals and work ethic. They have more in common than differences; yet, they exhibit individual personalities. Rosie apparently derived some of her traits from her intuitive, resilient mother and from her Scottish father; whom she never met. She experienced the subsistence existence on the trap-line, the culture shock of going to live with the Yudziks, and the exposure to sophisticated business at a young age. There are a bunch of other characters who adapt to the excitement of the project and expectations built on being responsible from here forward.
Innovation
I find innovation engaging. The imagining of the corridor across the wilderness, the development of a rational utility right of way, the reconciliation of First Nation claims and aspirations, the development of solar power and hydrogen storage, the greenhouses in the north, the elimination of road kill, the engagement of villagers in their education, the pursuit of simplicity and fairness, George Zhong’s development of farming operations, the animal pivots; all illustrate the potential for imagination and passionate pursuit.