Joan London’s The Good Parents

1. THE GOOD PARENTS is a novel that examines different generations and the attitudes people hold – and the choices they make – at various points in their lives. Do you think Joan London is better at portraying one generation than another? Is her depiction of young people today credible? And what about the baby boomers?
2. This novel considers the ways that decisions and choices echo across the generations. Do you think that’s an accurate and/or insightful portrayal of how intergenerational relationships work? Does it ring true for you that the next generation repeats its parents’ mistakes, or do they rebel in a different way?
3. Is Joan London suggesting that everyone gets it wrong when they’re young, i.e. that ‘youth is wasted on the young’, perhaps?
4. This novel relies on a number of coincidences and repetitions. Did you find these convincing or contrived?
5. Were all of the characters’ motivations clear to you or were some characters more inscrutable than others?
6. Much of the novel is set in Melbourne: did the portrayal of the city and, in particular, Richmond feel familiar? And how is the city/country divide employed as a theme?
7. What did you think of the ending? Will Toni and Jacob’s relationship survive?

Review from The Australian
Interview from The Age