Into the Water by Paula Hawkins

Book Description:

In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .

About the Author:

Paula Hawkins is British novelist born in Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1972, whose first novel, The Girl on the Train, became a bestseller. She is the daughter of an economics professor and she and her family moved back from Rhodesia to London in 1989 when she was 17 years old. She attended the University of Oxford and graduated with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She worked for The Times as a business journalist and then worked as a freelance journalist for various different publications.

In 2009, Hawkins turned her attention from reporting factual stories to writing fiction. She used the pen name Amy Silver and wrote four romantic comedy novels; the most memorable of which being Confessions of a Reluctant Recessionista. These first novels did not become successful and were not at all critically acclaimed. It was not until she wrote a much darker story, her thriller The Girl on the Train, that she became a bestselling author.

Paula Hawkins has reported that the novel took her 6 months of writing full time to complete. It is a much more serious book than her previous four novels and deals with issues of drug abuse, alcoholism and domestic violence among others. The novel was a bestseller in hardback and the publisher pushed back the publication of the paperback edition several times in order to capitalise on its success for as long as possible. Only a year after its initial release, The Girl on the Train had been published in more than forty different languages, had been optioned for adaptation for film by Dreamworks and had become a bestseller worldwide.

Discussion Guide:

1. Family relationships, particularly the bond between sisters, feature heavily in Into the Water. How do you think Lena is affected by Nel and Jules’s estrangement? How does it influence her friendship with Katie?
2. Jules and Nel’s estrangement hinges on a misremembering of an event in their past. Are there any childhood or teenage memories you have that are no longer as clear when you look back now? How has this novel made you view your past, and the way it reflects upon your present?
3. Within the novel there are several inappropriate relationships — for example, Katie and Mark; Sean and Nel; Helen and Patrick. How does the depiction of the relationships between these characters affect your interpretation of their behavior and actions?
4. "Beckford is not a suicide spot. Beckford is a place to get rid of troublesome women." Discuss the gender dynamic in Into the Water. How much power does each of the women in the novel hold? What are the different types of power they hold?
5. Into the Water contains several different voices and perspectives. How did this structure affect your reading of the novel?
6. How do the epigraphs relate to the novel? Does one speak to you more than another? If so, why?
7. The structure of the novel means that we get tremendous insight into our suspects throughout. Who did you originally think was responsible for Nel’s death? Did your opinion change as the plot developed?
8. Was there a particular character you identified with? Was there a particular moment you found moving, surprising, or terrifying?
9. Many of the characters in the novel are grieving — some from more recent, raw losses and others from historic ones. How sympathetic were you to these characters? Was there a character you felt more sympathy for than another? Does their grief excuse their behavior?
10. Nickie Sage represents the legacy of witches that haunts the novel. Do you believe she sees things others cannot? Do you agree with the way she behaves?

Interview with the Author:

https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2017/paula-hawkins-on-into-the-water/

Author's Website:

http://paulahawkinsbooks.com/into-the-water/

Author's Other Works/ Movie Adaptations: