February Discussion: Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

[amathela]

Hi everyone! Luckily empressearwig reminded me about putting this up, I can't believe it's the end of the month already. Here are a few discussion questions, but as always, feel free to discuss anything you feel like - I'd love to hear what people think of a book that's always been a bit of an Australian icon

Comments

[amathela]

1. As an Australian, I love how Aussie the book is - there's so much in there that's genuine and recognisable to me, from the bush culture to the local show to the particular lingo and ways of speaking the characters have. Overall, I find it a pretty realistic take on actual people, particularly the small touches, like Ellie choosing which of her teddies to take with her (as an Australian in a bushfire region, evacuation packing is something she definitely would have thought about) to stupid jokes like the "we weren't spotted"/"were you striped?" exchange

[waltzmatildah]

1. Speaking of being an icon, this book is pretty Australian. Was that jarring for people? Did you even notice it? Did it subtract anything from your reading, or add to it? I actually find this question to be a little bit offensive, which I am SURE is not what you intended with it [and you probably only even asked the question because this - the notion that a book being set 'shock horror' somewhere that's not America could possibly subtract from an individual's experience of it to the point that it's jarring and needs to be ~discussed - is a pervasive phenomenon that exists across SO MANY areas, not just literature]. But anyway, that's probably a discussion topic all of it's own, so I'm going to skip question one if that's okay.

2. I don't mind that you're pretty much set up to expect that 'shit's gonna hit the fan soon' right from the start with this book. While it's obvious, I mean, even from the title, that things are going to get hectic, I don't think (and I'm trying to remember back to my first reading of this book maaaaany

[amathela]

1. you probably only even asked the question because this - the notion that a book being set 'shock horror' somewhere that's not America could possibly subtract from an individual's experience of it to the point that it's jarring and needs to be ~discussed - is a pervasive phenomenon that exists across SO MANY areasActually, that's not why I asked, and that's not what I meant by the question. I didn't mean that the book, setting, etc. being Australian/not being American might detract from some peoples' enjoyment of it, but rather that even I noticed a lot of things in the book that might not be particularly understandable or translate well to non-Australian readers* - bits of lingo, phrases, things like that. Given that it was written for more of an Australian than an international audience, I don't think Marsden was taking international accessibility into account when he was writing; I was simply curious to know how accessible or inaccessible non-Australians found it - not how much they hated having to read something that wasn't

[waltzmatildah]

Actually, that's not why I asked, and that's not what I meant by the question. Fair enough, and your additional explanation certainly makes sense. But it was definitely not my interpretation of the question.

depending on how much you generally enjoy book-to-movie adaptations, but this wasn't a bad one. I guess I think it's a case by case basis...

[katayla]

1. Speaking of being an icon, this book is pretty Australian. Was that jarring for people? Did you even notice it? Did it subtract anything from your reading, or add to it?

My book has "An Aussie Glossary" at the beginning, which helped with the unfamiliar slang, although I think a lot of I could get from context, like I know what "mates" and "petrol" are and I think "rack off" is pretty self-explanatory, haha. But I had no idea "dinking" meant carrying a passenger on a bike!

And it was an unfamiliar environment, for sure, but that's probably also cause I grow in the suburbs.

2. Personally, I love books where you know something is going to go wrong in advance, and all you can do is watch it unfold. Did the beginning of the book strike you in the same way? Were there any bits that particularly struck you as forboding, or as being key points in that journey?Ha! I think I have a love/hate relationship with those kind of books because I do enjoy that build up, but I also feel like screaming, I KNOW SOMETHING BAD IS GOING TO HAPPEN, SO

[amathela]

My book has "An Aussie Glossary" at the beginning

Oh, wow, that's kind of hilarious! Good to know, though. And you're right, quite a bit of it probably is inferable from context, but it probably doesn't hurt.

SOMETHING BAD ALWAYS HAS TO HAPPEN AFTER SOMETHING GOOD.

RIGHT? SO TERRIBLE.

[theepiccek]

I read this book a long time ago, when I was at school. I didn't like it then & I tried re-reading it for this & I still don't like it. I know that sounds overly harsh but there's just something about the whole book that rubs me the wrong way.

Part of it is to do with the fact that I just don't generally like Australian/New Zealand literature - I don't like the style that our publishing houses tend to favour, it often subtracts from my enjoyment of the book as a whole because I can't get lost in the book as much. I mean, I do enjoy reading books that are set in a country that I recognise, but in some ways that also makes it harder for my imagination to take over? And this book is sort of different in that sense too, because Marsden originally wrote it purely for an Aussie/NZ audience, which a lot of books by Aussie/NZ author's aren't.

But my lack of enjoyment of this book has way more to do with just it being an Australian book - the characters, the pacing of the plot, all of it.

[amathela]

Huh, that's interesting - I can definitely understand what you mean about the Australian "style", though it's not something I've ever found grating.

[theepiccek]

There are exceptions, for sure, but YA in particular is an issue - like Melina Marchetta is another author I just can't stand. I don't really know why I find the style grating, but it's an issue I've had for as long as I can remember.