Book Of The Month for April was The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer. For online Book Clubbers there are some questions below for you to get involved with. Either answer in the comments section or use as discussion points at your next Book Club. If you haven’t read the book check out the Lowdown all about it here.
The Satsuma Complex – the blurb
My name is Gary. I’m a thirty-year-old legal assistant with a firm of solicitors in London. To describe me as anonymous would be unfair but to notice me other than in passing would be a rarity. I did make a good connection with a girl, but that blew up in my face and smacked my arse with a fish slice.
Gary Thorn goes for a pint with a work acquaintance called Brendan. When Brendan leaves early, Gary meets a girl in the pub. He doesn’t catch her name, but falls for her anyway. When she suddenly disappears without saying goodbye, all Gary has to remember her by is the book she was reading: The Satsuma Complex. But when Brendan goes missing, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Satsuma to get some answers.
And so begins Gary’s quest, through the estates and pie shops of South London, to finally bring some love and excitement into his unremarkable life…
Discussion Points
The following are written with the presumption you have read The Satsuma Complex. If you haven’t, bookmark the post and come back to answer the questions later.
- Did you read the book because Bob Mortimer wrote it or despite the fact? Can you ‘hear’ Bob within the pages?
- Is Gary a bit of a loser? Does that change during the course of the book?
- The title of the book is unusual. What was the book in the story with the same name about? And how did this relate to the book we were reading?
- What did the squirrel represent in the book? Did Gary talk to the squirrel prior to him noticing the cover of The Satsuma Complex?
- How much do you now want to eat a slice of battenberg?
Get Involved
Feel free to answer as many of the questions as you want. Post your replies below, discuss with us on social media using @BookSocialUK, or pose some questions of your own. If you enjoyed the questions, have a go at previous month’s Get Involved: My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
