Mathilda Savitch Reading Notes
Starting this September, Fifth Estate will begin hosting reading notes to some of Press Books most exciting new releases.
Our first reading guide accompanies September’s Independent Book of the Month, Mathilda Savitch, the debut novel from acclaimed playright Victor Lodato.
Read Victor Lodato on writing Mathilda Savitch
Written in Mathilda’s unflinching voice, Mathilda Savitch is a fiercely funny novel of life and loss, capturing the realities of adolescence in scenes that are by turns hilarious and heartbreaking. Below are a few suggestions for topics of discussion which we hope will help you to enjoy this brilliant debut novel even more…
What was it like to read Mathilda’s story in her own words, with phrases directed at you? What does she seem to want from the reader?
Re-read the book’s epigraph. Do you agree with G. K. Chesterton’s statement that the desire for justice is related to innocence, while the desire for mercy is related to wickedness? How do Mathilda’s feelings about justice and mercy evolve over the course of the book?
What makes Mathilda’s friendship with Anna so unpredictable? Who was your best friend when you were their age? How was that relationship different from the friendships you have now?
What do you think lies behind Mathilda’s desire to be ‘awful’? What does she seem to want? Do you sympathize with her? What were the most irrational thoughts you had as a teenager?
What does the current relationship between Ma and Da, combined with the legacy of their passionate younger days, teach Mathilda about love?
Mathilda has heard a lot about sex and has many beliefs about its power and pleasures. How does she want to use sex? What type of gratification is she looking for when she pursues Kevin? Discuss Mathilda’s understanding of Helene’s sexuality. In your opinion, how accurate are her perceptions about her sister?
Is Mathilda wise to stop trusting adults? What kind of role models are they, in regard to dealing with her sister’s death? Do you believe, as Mathilda states, that ‘Grief is an island’?
Why is it important for Mathilda to believe that Helene was pushed? What do you think lies behind Mathilda’s brutal fantasies?
What do you think lies behind Mathilda’s compulsion to save strands of hair? Discuss other instances of her magical thinking. How do these thoughts serve her? Are they helpful or debilitating?
An award-winning playwright, Victor Lodato makes his debut as a novelist with Mathilda Savitch. Does it affect your reading to know that a man created Mathilda’s voice? Can you think of other instances where a male writer convincingly renders a female interior life?
Try to see the adults in this novel – including parents, teachers, and the Tree – apart from Mathilda’s views and judgements. Are they doing the best they can? Do you think Mathilda misunderstands, at times, their behavior and intentions?
How did your image of Helene change throughout the novel? Why does Mathilda have such mixed feelings, in regard to her sister? Do you think her version of Helene’s life is a fantasy, or did she know her sister better than anyone else in the family did?
Why doesn’t Mathilda tell Louis the truth? What is she trying to accomplish in her closing scenes with him?
Discuss the backdrop of terrorism running throughout the novel. How does it affect Mathilda’s perception of the world? How does it shape the emotional state of a new generation of teenagers?
How does dark comedy enhance Mathilda’s storytelling? What passages made you laugh out loud (even if it seemed inappropriate)?
