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Title: Delphine's Run
Authors: Fearnley, Laurence
Genre: Fiction: New Zealand
Pages: 223
Year: 2003
Language: English
Description: Delphine works as a food-trolley girl on the Brest-Paris train. Her relationships complicated and her work predictable, until a bomb explosion on the train disturbs the only uncomplicated aspect of her life. NZ Interest.

Comments from Groups:

Mixed persepctives of the book. Very robust discussion. Lots of mixed ideas of how it played out. A great book for discussion. Hamilton 042

Our group had a lively discussion about whether Delphine was a naive dupe or a devious terrorist. Clever writing but a frustrating end to the novel. Wellington 104

Good book. Different. Raumati 003

This was not a popular book with our group. After a promising start we lost sympathy with Delphine and were left frustrated with the ambiguity of her character. Was she naive and feckless or well aware of Dany and Javier's implication in terrorist actions?Hamilton 003

Great discussion - debate about this book and the way there was no 'right' answer in the discussion questions. Was a good book for going back and searching answers for. Mangwhai 003

Categories: Fiction NZ, Political, France

Reviews

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By: AUCK 271 2023-08-16 14:43:35
3.5 
This book was well-written and the theme was of interest. It was a book we felt we needed to keep reading - suspense was built throughout and last minute revelations gave us considerable food for thought. We would recommend it to other groups.

By: BLENH 003 2021-01-27 10:29:20
3 
This book was a disappointment to most group members, who found Delphine's character somewhat difficult to understand. However, as is often the case, we had an excellent discussion about many aspects of the story.

By: WELL 130 2021-01-27 10:25:38
4 
Interesting! The plot was deceptively simple. As we discussed it we each found increasing depths. We did appreciate her style.

By: PALMN 006 2021-01-27 10:23:32
3.5 
Easy read. Many didn't realise the author was a new Zealander. The character Delphine was unusual, maybe nave. She grew up too quickly as a child, and was now more childlike.

By: CHCH 095 2021-01-27 10:21:42
4 
The book created lots of discussion - was Delphine aware of the 'goings on', or just incredibly nave The notes gave more insight to the book, which we wouldn't normally have got just taking the book at face value.

By: PICT 002 2021-01-27 10:16:56
3 
Not our favourite book. Discussion went well but we thought the book was a bit disjointed.

By: DANNE 003 2021-01-27 10:15:39
4.5 
Once again, another great discussion with this book. Many thanks.

By: DOUBT 001 2021-01-27 10:14:34
3.5 
Challenging in a way, not unanimously liked. Perhaps needed to be re-read. A character that was not easy to like, but did need to be empathised with.

By: AUCK 248 2021-01-27 10:13:18
4 
This book was quite hard to get into. Many of us struggled initially, but found the book notes helpful to get us back into it. The ending was also frustrating. However, it created a lot of discussion about the main characters' motives, relationships, mental health and political instincts. In the end most of us enjoyed it, but several didn't complete it.

 
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