July 2023 Book Club Recommendation: The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

An absolute page-turner, Katie Bishop’s The Girls of Summer is a timely novel that uncovers issues around power, coercive control and consent with tremendous skill.

Set on a Greek island, the novel sees a woman return to the scene of a seminal summer she spent on the island as a teenager. A summer that saw her fall in love with an older man, with abiding effects she’s only beginning to unwrap.

Part mystery, part thriller, and wholly thought-provoking, we thought it would make the ideal novel to discuss at your book club. Read on for some topics to kickstart your discussion, with more ideas here. 

1. Did The Girls of Summer turn out to be the kind of story you expected from its title and cover image?

2. Why did Rachel return to the island with Tom? Why do you think she got together with him?

3. “It is impossible to exist in the present when the power of the past is so strong”. Do you agree with this remark made by Rachel? How is it borne out in the novel?

4. How did you feel when Rachel said Priya, Eloise, Helena and Agnes had “twisted things” about what happened on the island, while she “was the one who saw things clearly”?

5. What does the novel reveal about the nature of consent, coercion and culpability? 

6. “Do victims sit and enjoy the company of their abuser and think about how their entire lives have been building up to this? Of course they don’t”. What does Rachel’s story journey reveal about trauma and victimhood?

7. Discuss how female friendship is variously represented in the novel.

8. How did your opinion of Rachel change through the course of the novel? How does the author shift your opinion of her?

9. Is The Girls of Summer a feminist novel?

10. What did you think of the “Then” and “Now” structure of the novel? Discuss how the plot unfolds in relation to its themes.

11. What did you think of the “Later” conclusion to The Girls of Summer? How did you feel after reading the novel?