Download - Discussion Guide: Shine by Candy Gourlay
How does Rosa cope with her isolation? Would you be able to cope with being isolated like Rosa if you had the Internet?
Think
Rosa’s desire to see her mother’s ghost is so powerful she is willing to give up her freedom. Why?
Think
But he’s figured out where she lives … and now he wants to meet.
Rosa does not want to meet her only friend face to face. What is she afraid of?
Think
But he’s figured out where she lives … and now he wants to meet.
Rosa and Ansel95 develop false versions of themselves online. Why? How different are they from their online personas?
Think
But he’s figured out where she lives … and now he wants to meet. Discuss how people portray
themselves online. What about you? Do you pretend to be something you’re not? Why? How has the internet changed the way people see themselves?
Think
When I started writing Shine, there were terrible floods in Manila where I grew up. I was struck by how floods that seemed such an ordinary part of life in the Philippines would be unthinkable in other places.
I also read the short story All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury – about children who live on Venus where it never stops raining. And what happens when they meet another child who has actually seen the sun.
SCREEN GRAB FROM THE FILM ‘ALL SUMMER IN A DAY’
If you get a chance to read All Summer in a Day – compare the Venus children to the people of Mirasol. Why did they treat Margot the way they did?
Unending rain is ordinary to the people of Mirasol. How do you think rain affects
their culture, beliefs and way of life?
Think
In a way, Mirasol is just as isolated as Rosa. If Mirasol were human, what
sort of person would he or she be? Why? Did you get the sense that the island was also
a character in the story? Why?
Think
Think
One could say that several of the characters in Shine are trapped souls.
Which characters are trapped, and why?
When people ask me what Shine is about, I reply, ‘It’s a ghost story.’ But the blurb on the cover says: ‘This is not a ghost story. Though there are plenty of ghosts in it.’ Do you know what I mean?
Here is the cover blurb again:
“This is not a ghost story. Though there are plenty of ghosts in it.
And it’s not a horror story. Though some people might be horrified.
It’s not a monster story either. Though there is a monster in it
and that monster happens to be me.”
Shine is told in two voices. There are two plotlines that
converge at the end. One of the stories is about twin sisters.
I was exploring many dualities: light and dark, happiness and sorrow, being the same and being different. Have you noticed the contrasts and oppositions in the story?
Thank you for reading Shine. I hope this discussion guide got you thinking and made the story even more enjoyable.