Book Club Questions for The White Pearl

As the glamourous wife of a plantation owner, Connie Hadley appears to lead a pampered and comfortable life. But she is hiding devastating secrets that could destroy her marriage.

Connie’s life is changed forever on the day of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbour and she decides to flee to Singapore on the family’s boat, The White Pearl. In desperation, short of food and constantly in danger, fear strips away manners, tensions arise and anger causes deadly divisions between friends…

The White Pearl is is the perfect Bookclub read: chock-full of suspense, packed with fascinating historical tidbits and gripping to boot.

To help generate some discussion amongst your Book Club members, we're giving you some questions to get you started:

1. Who was your favourite character and why?
2. Who was your least favourite character and why?
3. Did you know much about the historical background to the novel
before starting it? What did it add to the reading experience? How
has the author used her research?
4. What do you think of Connie as the heroine of the novel? How
does Connie change through the course of the book? Do you think
she makes the right choices in her life?
5. What do the characters of Maya and Razak tell you about Malaya
at this time? How did you feel about their determination to exact
revenge on Connie?
6. What do you feel are the main themes in The White Pearl?
7. What are the differences, and similarities, between Connie and
Maya?
8. How would you describe the atmosphere on the boat?
9. Did you trust Fitz, as Connie does, through the book?
10. Did the ending take you by surprise and do you think Connie made
the right choice?