Welcome! We’re so glad you’re joining us for our celebration of the power of reading.
Here you will find special resources, exclusively available for ticket holders, to support your engagement with this year's celebration. Resources and links to videos will be available through December 31st, 2022.
Welcoming Chris Bohjalian
On Monday May 16th, Words Alive welcomed Chris Bohjalian to San Diego for our annual Author’s Luncheon. Guests were invited to a courtyard lunch, followed by a conversation between renowned Dr. Seth Lerer and author Chris Bohjalian regarding his newest novel, The Lioness.
About the Author
First joining Words Alive in 2009, we are thrilled to welcome back bestselling author Chris Bohjalian in discussion of his new riveting novel, The Lioness.
Weaving the rich atmosphere of 1960s Los Angeles cinema with the Serengeti, The Lioness is a riveting historical thriller in which a luxurious African safari turns deadly for a Hollywood starlet and her entourage.
Chris Bohjalian is the award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author of 23 books (The Hour of the Witch, The Flight Attendant, an Emmy-nominated TV series) and a playwright. His work has been translated into 35 languages and become three movies and an Emmy-nominated TV series. He lives in Vermont.
“With “The Lioness,” the getting is violently good. Pulled in by the promise of thrills or the guarantee of glamour, readers will stay for the game of survivor(s), and finish the book as satisfied as a fat cat in the Serengeti.”
“Drawing on its cast for both color and depth, “The Lioness” provides a meaty look at what makes us animals in what we call civilization — and what makes us human when we’re out in the wild.”
“Despite knowing this story will end badly, we get attached to Barstow and her cronies. I blame Bohjalian. Throughout his bloody, often shocking jumble of twists and turns, he weaves life stories with such deftness, it’s impossible not to care how they end (or continue, as the case may be).”
About The Presenter
Dr. Seth Lerer is an American scholar, teacher, and public lecturer who specializes in the history of English literature and the English language. He is a Distinguished Professor of Literature at University of California, San Diego, where he served as the Dean of Arts and Humanities from 2009 to 2014.
The Virtual Experience
Due to limited in-person capacity due to COVID, virtual tickets are available and include:
a recording of the discussion with the author, to watch at your leisure
a copy of The Lioness mailed to your home
Virtual Book Club
The virtual book club discussions will take place:
Tuesday, May 24 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific
Tuesday, May 31 at 3:00 p.m. Pacific
Ticketholders are invited to attend one session.
The Lioness Coming Soon…
The Lioness is set to be adapted for television by eOne. It has been revealed that the show will be produced by Sherry Marsh from Marsh Entertainment. There is no confirmed release date, so keep an eye out for more information!
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Discussion Questions
Want to feature The Lioness as your next book club read? We recommend the discussion questions below:
1. What does The Lioness demonstrate about the nature of survival? What role do fate, temperament, life experience, and other factors play in determining the probability of perishing?
2. As you read about the three married couples (David and Katie, Billy and Margie, Felix and Carmen), what did you observe about their relationship styles? Which partnership seemed to be the strongest one? Did the single travelers (Terrance, Reggie, and Peter) have any advantages by being solo?
3. In what ways do Juma, Muema, and Benjamin give voice to multiple generations in the period of sweeping social change in their homeland? How does the concept of wisdom shift as their circumstances change?
4. Are Katie’s wealth and fame worth the price? How does her ability to bankroll the experiences of her guests affect the relationships—romantic, platonic, and familial—she forms with them?
5. How did you react to the scene on page 89 when a lioness preys on a wildebeest? Is the lioness’s behavior much different from that of the kidnappers? If you have housecats, do they share any of the lioness’s traits, or are they more like wildebeests?
6. How was Terrance’s sense of self transformed by the safari team? Throughout his life, when was he able to feel most at home? When was he forced to play a role, even off-camera?
7. Katie and Billy clearly have different personalities. How did this shape the way they endured their parents’ abuse? How did their childhood prepare them for the tragedies that lay ahead in their adult lives?
8. On page 246, Reggie calls Carmen a lioness, saying it with “reverence and awe.” In what ways does she earn this title? At the same time, does Reggie qualify as a lion?
9. How were your impressions shaped by the shifting points of view that you were able to see across the chapters? As you read about the key turning points in the characters’ life stories, which ones resonated with you the most? Which character would be your favorite traveling companion?
10. In the last line of chapter thirteen, Benjamin says, “I’d rather die charging like a rhino than bleating like a goat.” What does the novel say about the impact of death itself, both on the person (or other creature) who is dying and on those who are left behind in the aftermath?
11. The time period of the early 1960s is itself a character in The Lioness. What are the most beautiful aspects of this liberating character? What fuels the sinister side of that decade? How did shifting attitudes about gender, race, and sexuality make the 1960s an ideal backdrop for Katie Barstow’s tale?
12. What is the effect of the media snippets at the beginning of the chapters? What is special about the fact that Katie and her entourage are almost all artists in some form? Is their profession a liability or an asset? Which characters are best equipped to cope with the brutal realities of the kidnapping?
13. Much of Chris Bohjalian’s fiction is interwoven with carefully researched historical fact. What did you learn about the history of the Soviet Union, the CIA, and postcolonial Africa by reading The Lioness? What were your initial theories about the motives of the kidnappers in the novel?
14. How does The Lioness enhance your impressions of previous novels by Chris Bohjalian that you have read? What is unique about his ability to create characters who reveal the complexities of being human?
Special Thanks
Presenting Sponsor
Editor’s Circle
With additional support from:
The Patricia & Christopher Weil Family Foundation
Warwick’s
Technical Team
Jarnard Sutton/Nardcast Media
Brian Rash-Zeigler of RZ Photography
A very special thank you to the many volunteers and supporters who have graciously given their time and talent in support of this event.