Just realized our book club debate about character deaths was totally one-sided

Last month my group argued for 45 minutes over whether killing off the main character in act 2 was a brave choice or a lazy move. I was on team "lazy" because it felt like shock value. Then I re-read the foreshadowing on pages 112, 189, and 214 the next day. Turns out the author planted clues all along and I missed them completely. Now I'm wondering if my whole stance was just me not paying close attention. Has anyone else had a book club debate flip on them after a second read?

2 comments

2 Comments

blairc9020h ago

c'mon man, are we really turning book club into a CSI investigation over a fictional character's death? you missed some clues, okay. big deal. it happens. but acting like your whole stance was a giant screw-up because you didn't catch a dropped hint on page 112 feels a little dramatic. the author still made a choice to kill them off in act 2, and it's still fair to call that lazy if the payoff felt cheap on first read. foreshadowing doesn't automatically make a shocking death brilliant. sometimes it's just the author patting themselves on the back for being "clever.

felix41414h agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, totally feel you on that. Some folks take this way too serious.