From the Publisher
The village was asleep, with all the people behind the walls
and through the windows and up the stairs of the little houses
blind and deaf in their beds while anything might happen. Lewis
headed down the middle of the road and he kept falling and had to
remember to get back on his feet.
He reached the churchyard and stood in the dark with the church
even darker above him.
-from The Outcast by Sadie Jones
It's 1957. Nineteen-year-old Lewis Aldridge is returning by train
to his home in Waterford where he has just served a two-year prison
term for a crime that shocked the sleepy Surrey community. Wearing
a new suit, he carries money his father Gilbert sent - to keep him
away, he suspects - and a straight razor. No one greets him at the
station.
Twelve years earlier, seven-year-old Lewis and his spirited mother
Elizabeth are on the same train, bringing Gilbert home from war.
Waterford is experiencing many such reunions, alcohol lubricating
awkward homecomings and community gatherings. The most oppressive
of these are the mandatory holiday parties hosted by the town's
leading industrialist Dicky Carmichael, Gilbert's employer. With
the Carmichael estate backing onto the Aldridge property, the
attractive and popular Tamsin Carmichael and her precocious kid
sister Kit are Lewis's playmates, along with a gaggle of
neighbourhood boys who (like Lewis) are fascinated by Tamsin. The
children play thrilling and cruel games, mirroring the adults'
inebriated dysfunction.
Though pleased to be reunited with Elizabeth, Gilbert is appalled
by the coddling his son has received in his absence. No longer
permitted to skip church for picnics by the river, Elizabeth and
Lewis are steered back under the ever-judgmental gaze of Waterford
society. Lewis continues to flourish, a naturally capable golden
child. But iconoclastic Elizabeth, disappointed by Gilbert's
insistence on conformity, seeks refuge in the bottle.
Then a sunny riverside picnic ends with Elizabeth dead and
ten-year-old Lewis the only witness. A shattered Gilbert is
incapable of providing comfort to his young son and the community
of Waterford turns away from the traumatized child, now rendered a
pariah by tragedy. Lewis is sent to boarding school, summoned home
only for holidays. Gilbert remarries five months later to Alice, a
compliant beauty who is not up to the task of parenting a damaged
child.
Years pass and Lewis, now a troubled teenager, is lost in dangerous
and self-harming behaviours. When an incident with a local bully
causes Lewis to be even further estranged from the community,
Gilbert and Alice stand idly by as Lewis is tormented by the
tyrannical Dicky. Enraged, Lewis commits a shocking crime against
the whole of Waterford and is sent to prison.
Two years later, upon his shamed return, the town continues to
treat Lewis as an outcast. Only Tamsin's little sister Kit, now a
young woman, sees in him the golden boy he once was. She had become
infatuated with Lewis years earlier when he had casually protected
her from bullies and broken bicycle chains. But she now faces a
much darker and more dangerous sort of bullying at the hands of her
father. It is up to Lewis once again to rescue her, redeeming
himself through tremendous courage and terrible sacrifice. And
perhaps Kit holds the power to rescue him, too.
Winner of the Costa First Novel Award and a finalist for the
prestigious Orange Prize, Sadie Jones's The
Outcast introduces us to a clear and brave new voice in
British fiction. The novel is a clarion call to us all, daring us
to stand up to the bullies of our world, in whatever form they may
take and - above all else - to love our children.
From the Jacket
1. Why does Lewis choose to return home after prison, despite
being ambivalent towards Waterford and dreading what he's returning
to? What does he hope to achieve?
2. Alcohol plays a significant role in much of the novel's
tragedy, despite the attempts by Waterford society to disguise it
in civility. Discuss the impact of alcohol in Waterford community
life, particularly in respect to family dysfunction.
3. Discuss sexuality in The Outcast, comparing
Lewis's relationships with the various women in his life. How is
each relationship different? What is it that draws these women to
him and him to them?
4. Discuss the roles of church and school in this novel. Are
they the sites of moral training and education they are held up to
be? Why or why not? What is Lewis's response to them?
5. The people of Waterford generally treat Lewis with contempt
and fear rather than compassion. Why do you think this is? In the
rare instances in which Lewis receives compassion, how does he
react?
6. How does Gilbert react to Lewis's displays of affection
towards him? Why, do you think? How does Gilbert feel about
Lewis?
7. Lewis not only seems to attract violence, but at times he
appears to seek it. Why do you think this is? Do you think it's
related to his self-cutting compulsion? What does he seek from
harming himself?
8. There are recurrent symbols throughout the novel, in
particular light and dark, blood, water and rivers, and trains.
Choose one of these symbols to explore and discuss its possible
meanings.
9. Discuss Oedipus and Jesus as archetypal presences in the
novel.
10. Jones describes this novel as a love story, rather than a
romance. What do you think is the distinction between the two
genres? Did The Outcast remind you of any other
novels or movies you've encountered?
11. Had Elizabeth not died, what do you think Lewis's future
could have held for him? Will he still be able to achieve that same
potential?
12. Compare the ways in which Lewis and Kit manage their
difficult lives. How are their coping strategies the same and how
are they different? Do you think their relationship will
survive?
13. Jones wrote this book using an omniscient narrative
technique, allowing us glimpses into the inner thoughts and
experiences of many of the characters (though not all of them).
What did you think of this strategy? Could the story have been told
without it?
14. Jones originally developed The Outcast as a
screenplay. Does this surprise you?
Bookclub Guide
1. Why does Lewis choose to return home after prison, despite
being ambivalent towards Waterford and dreading what he's returning
to? What does he hope to achieve?
2. Alcohol plays a significant role in much of the novel's
tragedy, despite the attempts by Waterford society to disguise it
in civility. Discuss the impact of alcohol in Waterford community
life, particularly in respect to family dysfunction.
3. Discuss sexuality in The Outcast, comparing
Lewis's relationships with the various women in his life. How is
each relationship different? What is it that draws these women to
him and him to them?
4. Discuss the roles of church and school in this novel. Are
they the sites of moral training and education they are held up to
be? Why or why not? What is Lewis's response to them?
5. The people of Waterford generally treat Lewis with contempt
and fear rather than compassion. Why do you think this is? In the
rare instances in which Lewis receives compassion, how does he
react?
6. How does Gilbert react to Lewis's displays of affection
towards him? Why, do you think? How does Gilbert feel about
Lewis?
7. Lewis not only seems to attract violence, but at times he
appears to seek it. Why do you think this is? Do you think it's
related to his self-cutting compulsion? What does he seek from
harming himself?
8. There are recurrent symbols throughout the novel, in
particular light and dark, blood, water and rivers, and trains.
Choose one of these symbols to explore and discuss its possible
meanings.
9. Discuss Oedipus and Jesus as archetypal presences in the
novel.
10. Jones describes this novel as a love story, rather than a
romance. What do you think is the distinction between the two
genres? Did The Outcast remind you of any other
novels or movies you've encountered?
11. Had Elizabeth not died, what do you think Lewis's future
could have held for him? Will he still be able to achieve that same
potential?
12. Compare the ways in which Lewis and Kit manage their
difficult lives. How are their coping strategies the same and how
are they different? Do you think their relationship will
survive?
13. Jones wrote this book using an omniscient narrative
technique, allowing us glimpses into the inner thoughts and
experiences of many of the characters (though not all of them).
What did you think of this strategy? Could the story have been told
without it?
14. Jones originally developed The Outcast as a
screenplay. Does this surprise you?
