Good evening, bookish friends, and happy New Year! Can you believe it’s time for another #readwithLLM discussion post? Another month gone by? I sure cannot. I also cannot believe we are in 2023. What a time 2022 was, am I right? So who’s ready to talk Dune*? I know I am!
Here's what I envision with these posts. I've come up with a few questions that I would love your thoughts on, but I also want to open up the comments for any questions or thoughts you have. I do reserve the right to remove any comments that are offensive or hateful, because my goal is to foster a community of readers here, where folks are encouraged to share their thoughts and literary experiences.
So, without further ado, here are my questions and curiosities:
What are the gender dynamics expressed in this series? Can this be considered a piece of feminist literature? Misogynist? A mix of both? What scenes/story arcs lend itself to your interpretation?
For sci-fi fans - is this, as the reviews suggest, the pinnacle of the genre? If so, what attributes make it such?
For sci-fi newbies (like me!) - does this book make you want to explore the genre more? Why or why not?
Let’s talk about world-building. It’s inarguable that [author] developed a rich, detailed universe in which his novel takes place. What were the most successful aspects of this world building? Any aspects that were not as successful?
Have you watched the movie? If so, what were your thoughts? If not, are you likely to, now that you’ve read the book? Will you read the other books in the series?
What is meant by the statement, “Humans are almost always lonely”? Is that a fair assessment? This was a quote from early in the book - how did this play out as the book progressed?
Was the structure effective? The short vignettes bfore each chapter that provided more context for the storyline?
Trigger warnings are a bit of a controversial topic in the literary world (I am 100% on board with providing trigger warnings and protecting readers’ peace and safety). Should there be a trigger warning for the sexual abuse perpetrated by the baron? Was that even a necessary plot point for the storyline?
Resources to consider:
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/review-a-dune-sanded-to-dullness - A New Yorker review of the movie
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/race-consciousness-fascism-and-frank-herberts-dune/ - A fascinating (read: terrifying) look at Dune as an object of reverence for alt-right and white supremacist groups
https://lithub.com/what-accounts-for-the-lasting-appeal-of-dune/ - Another (less horrifying) look at why Dune continues to appeal to readers
*This post contains affiliate links. If you make purchases after using these links, I will earn a percentage of your purchase without any further cost to you.
Comments