Still. He’ll tell Jack nothing of what happened last Thursday.
Mahony smiles. “The truth is I’ve come here to get away from it all.”
A collie noses out from behind the bar.
When it turns its head Mahony sees that it only has one good eye, the other rests messily on the dog’s cheek. Its ribs are caved in, leaving a dark sticky ditch. A dog that broken would have to be dead, and of course it is, fuck it.
Mahony sucks air in through his teeth and looks away.
The dead dog turns to lick Jack’s hand, which trails down holding his cigarette, but its muzzle goes straight through and the dog, finding no response, folds itself up at the foot of his master’s bar stool and rests the good side of its face on its faint paws.
Mahony studies his pint. “All I really want,” he says, “is a bit of peace and quiet.”
Sometimes a man is in no way honest.
“Aye,” says Jack. The word is little more than an exhalation of air. “So that’s it?”
Mahony feels no malice. He could tell them, ask them; he could start right here.
The two men look at him.
Mahony picks up his pint. “That’s my story. I have no other.”
Mr. Flood’s Last Resort
Jess Kidd
Reading Group Guide
This reading group guide for Mr. Flood’s Last Resort includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.
Introduction
The award-winning author of Himself presents the spellbinding tale of a lonely caregiver and a cranky, elderly hoarder with a house full of secrets. Packed with eccentric charms, twisted comedy, and a whole lot of heart, Mr. Flood’s Last Resort is a mesmerizing tale that examines the space between sin and sainthood, reminding us that often the most meaningful forgiveness that we can offer is to ourselves.
Topics and Questions for Discussion
1. Is Mr. Flood a good man? How did your perception of him change over the course of the novel?
2. The novel is called Mr. Flood’s Last Resort, but Maud is the narrator. Do you see this story as belonging more to one character than the other? Who is our hero, or heroine?
3. Most of the novel is set at Bridlemere, Mr. Flood’s estate. From a craft perspective, what do you think is difficult or useful about setting a novel in a confined space like that? Did the author do anything to extend the canvas, the stage on which the action takes place?
4. What purpose do the flashbacks in the novel serve? Why do you suppose they don’t open with illustrations like the other chapters?
5. What roles do storytelling and folklore play in the story? How does Irish heritage shape Maud’s and Mr. Flood’s personalities, and their relationship to one another?
6. Renata Sparks, Maud’s neighbor, is agoraphobic. Why do you think the author chose to subject Renata to this particular phobia? How does it inform her portrayal and play into the novel’s themes?
7. How would you characterize the tone of the novel? What about the language?
8. What role do the patron saints play in the novel? How does the author’s choice to anthropomorphize them affect your perception of the saints? Did you have a favorite one?
9. As readers, we get to know Mr. Flood gradually, with his past being revealed piece by piece. What surprised you most about Mr. Flood’s past?
10. Why do you think Maud falls for “Sam Hebden”? Did you find their courtship persuasive, realistic?
11. Jess Kidd’s novels cross genres, blending light and darkness, whimsy and mystery, the real and the supernatural. If you had to sum up this book in one line, how would you describe it?
12. The author wrote this novel in the wake of her father’s death and has said that it was her way of “exploring loss, grief, regret and the mechanisms we develop for dealing with these emotions.” Where do you see evidence of this in the story? What are some of the coping mechanisms she might be referring to?
13. After intruders break into Renata’s apartment, Maud finds her friend in the bathroom in a terrible state and thinks, “There are no saints for this.” In a novel full of religious motifs and themes, how do you interpret a line like this?
14. Overall, do you find the novel hopeful? Why or why not?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. Ask members to bring in folktales from different cultures to share with the group. Discuss: How are the stories different from one another? Are there any commonalities?
2. As Gabriel Flood tries to put his father in an old age home against his will, Maud comforts Mr. Flood by keeping him company and listening to his stories. Plan a field trip to a local senior facility. Engage with residents as they tell you the stories of their lives.
3. Dive into your family history and see how far back you can trace your ancestry. Who knows what you might discover!
4. Get creative: The Illustrated Book of Saints is a relic from Maud’s childhood that remains essential to her identity. Just for fun, annotate a book that you treasure and share it with the rest of your book club.
Find out why critics are raving about Jess Kidd: her "supernaturally skillful" (New York Times) tales will "bring tears to your sorry eyes and joy to your hardened heart" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
A charming ne’er-do-well returns to his haunted Irish hometown to uncover the truth about his mother, turning the town—and his life—upside down in this "fast-paced yarn that nimbly soars" (New York Times) featuring "a captivating ensemble cast, great jolts of humor and danger, and hair-raising plot twists" (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).
Himself
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jess Kidd is an award-winning author with a PhD in creative writing from St. Mary’s University in London. In 2016, her debut novel, Himself, was selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club and shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards, and she won the Costa Short Story Award for “Dirty Little Fishes.” In 2017, Himself was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and longlisted for the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger.
She grew up as part of a large family from western Ireland’s County Mayo, and dreams of settling someday along the west coast of Ireland; in the meantime, she lives in London with her daughter. She has taught creative writing and has worked as a care worker specializing in acquired brain injury. Jess is currently working on projects for screen and stage, along with her third novel, a Dickens-inspired, magical realist crime tale set in Victorian London.
Learn more at JessKidd.com
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ALSO BY JESS KIDD
Himself: A Novel
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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yright © 2017 by Jess Kidd
Originally published in Great Britain in 2017 by Canongate Books Ltd
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
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Interior design by Kyoko Watanabe
Illustrations by Laura Levatino
Jacket design by Laywan Kwan
Jacket photography by Vassilis Makris/Millennium Images, UK
Wallpaper illustrations © Shutterstock
Author photograph © Travis McBride
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kidd, Jess, author.
Title: Mr. Flood’s last resort : a novel / Jess Kidd.
Description: First Atria books hardcover edition. | New York : Atria Books, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017032497| ISBN 9781501180637 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501180651 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PR6111.I33 H63 2018 | DDC 823/.92--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017032497
ISBN 978-1-5011-8063-7
ISBN 978-1-5011-8065-1 (ebook)
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Extract from ‘The Illustrated Book of Saints’
‘Himself’ Excerpt
Reading Group Guide
About the Author
Copyright