Reading guide for book clubs
From a window high up in the Hotel Rossiya, a couple looks down upon the figure lying in the snow. Hannah and Luke have just arrived in Moscow after travelling across Mongolia and Siberia. They had not seen the Russian leave his car, but they did see the police arrive, take notes, cover the body with a piece of matting, and then leave.
'The Avenue of Eternal Tranquillity' charts the story of Pyotr and Yuliya, living in the Soviet Union of the 1960s.
Their tale is interwoven with that of Luke and Hannah travelling the trans-Siberian railway from Beijing to Moscow in the early years of the new millennium. Their paths collide during the festive season in Moscow, 2002.
Set in Russia and China, this uplifting and tender journey across Siberian and human landscapes traces two deeply founded relationships and the lives that are shaped by them.
About the author …
People’s motivations and their interior life are at the core of Karen Overman-Edmiston’s writing. In addition, impressions and experiences gained while travelling are strong contributors to her work. Both of these factors are strongly evident in the recently published novel, The Avenue of Eternal Tranquillity, as well as in the earlier publication, Night Flight from Marabar, a collection of short stories.
Karen has written for the stage and has had competition-winning plays performed, including at the Festival of Perth. She is also a prize-winning short story writer who has had stories published in several magazines.
Night Flight from Marabar was reviewed in the Australian Book Review in September 1999. In his review, Ben Zipper commented that the writer’s work ‘emerges with a strong coherence and singularity of tone.’ and that the author ‘uses location to wise advantage, as a tool of explaining and exploring human experience.’ Zipper concluded his review with the comment, ‘This collection clearly shows promise of more to come.’
Crumplestone Press
E-mail: crumples@iinet.net.au
About the story …
In the arctic conditions of a Moscow winter, a man drives to the car park of a city hotel. He takes off his hat and coat, lies down in the snow, goes to sleep, and dies.
For discussion …
1 The novel is structured around two couples. Each pair differs from the other and their stories begin about forty years apart. How effective did you find the interweaving of the two stories and how did this contribute to your response to the novel?
2 What are some of the similarities between the emotional journeys of both couples and what are the differences?
3 Select a character in the story who strongly appealed to you. What qualities or personality features drew you to this character?
4 In answer to an interview question, the author said that she wanted ‘to write a story that would provide some comfort or reassurance to those who have lost someone they love’. Explain how the qualities of comfort and reassurance are woven into the story.
5 The concept of ‘the journey’ plays a big part in this novel. Identify and discuss the emotional and physical journeys that are portrayed and explored in the story.
6 What do you think is meant by the sub-title of the novel – ‘a trans-Siberian journey to the interior’?
7 What is the significance of the title, The Avenue of Eternal Tranquillity, in relation to the major themes of the work?
8 In commenting on The Avenue of Eternal Tranquillity, Chris McLeod, (author of Man of Water) called it ‘a very thoughtful and philosophical work that engages with notions of love, loss, tenderness, beauty and spirituality’. Do you agree with this comment?
9 It has been suggested that reading fiction provides memorable images and ideas that stay with us long after having read a particular book. What ideas and images has this story created in your mind that you will remember in six months time?
10 Examine how the nature of love is explored in this novel through the various characters and their relationships. Is it possible to love too much, to have perhaps, an excessive love?