RMC Book Club

Perdita Lee may appear to be your average British schoolgirl; Harriet Lee may seem just a working mother trying to penetrate the school social hierarchy; but there are signs that they might not be as normal as they think they are. For one thing, they share a gold-painted, seventh-floor walk-up apartment with some surprisingly verbal vegetation. And then there's the gingerbread they make. Londoners may find themselves able to take or leave it, but it's very popular in Druhástrana, the far-away (or, according to many sources, non-existent) land of Harriet Lee's early youth. The world's truest lover of the Lee family gingerbread, however, is Harriet's charismatic childhood friend Gretel Kercheval —a figure who seems to have had a hand in everything (good or bad) that has happened to Harriet since they met. 

Decades later, when teenaged Perdita sets out to find her mother's long-lost friend, it prompts a new telling of Harriet's story. As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value. Endlessly surprising and satisfying, written with Helen Oyeyemi's inimitable style and imagination, it is a true feast for the reader.

The RMC Book Club read Gingerbread during the 2022 spring semester. The questions guiding our discussion are below.

1. Gingerbread is presented as a new take on "Hansel and Gretel"? What similarities do you see? How are the two stories different?
2. What is Druhastrana like? Does it remind you of any real life places? Since Helen Oyeyemi is British, do you think Brexit could have been an inspiration for Druhastrana?
3. What fantastical/magical/fairy tale details stood out to you? Did you like the magical aspect of the novel? 
4. In addition to magical elements there are references to real life like Curb Your Enthusiasm and Jerry Springer. Did you notice them? What do you think of mixing fairytale and modern life?
5. Are there other books Gingerbread reminded you of? Other magical/fairytale books?
6. Do you think this novel could be about immigration? How is the experience of immigrants depicted?
7. Why hadn’t Harriet told Perdita all this before?
8. What do you make of Harriet and Gretel's friendship?
9. What is the charity they start at the end? What are they going to do with the houses they’re buying?
10. Does gingerbread (the food as portrayed in the novel) symbolize anything?