Book Club Discussion — The Passage

Well, did you make it through Justin Cronin's The Passage? It was a long one, but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and may or may not have cause one night of nightmares (let's just say I kept thinking my air conditioning unit turning off was somehow linked to the Colony's lights...hey, I was half asleep, it doesn't have to make sense).

Let's get down to it.  Some of our questions below came from Mike at About.com and many we posed ourselves. As usual, answer any, all, or pose some of your own and feel free to go off topic.

1. What do you feel were the main themes Cronin was wrestling with in this novel?
2. What do you make of the title of the book?
3. Cronin used a lot of old and modern lore about vampires (though he rarely used the term itself) how do you see his "virals" fitting into our traditional ideas about vampires? What traits did he successfully use and what new ideas did he bring to the genre?
4. Did you think the national response to the crisis was realistic (ex. California seceding from the U.S.)?
5. What do you make of the Third Global Conference on the North American Quarantine entries that are interspersed throughout the book in terms of what's happened to the rest of the world after the virals break out?
6. What was your favorite quote/intro to which section of the novel and how do you feel it best set up what was to come?
7. Why do you think Amy had a different reaction than the others that were "infected?" Why do you think some people were able to resist and others weren't? 
   
8. Did you have a hard time transitioning from the first third of the book to the last two-thirds? Why or why not?
9. There are multiple character and multiple story lines in this book, which one was your favorite and why?
10. Was the ending satisfying or did it leave you thirsty for more?
11. What predictions do you have about what story lines of the rest of the books in the trilogy (The Twelve and The City of Mirrors)?

Casting Call Friday - The Passage by Justin Cronin

Story Summary: (via Goodreads) First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.
As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

Before I get into the actual casting of this book, I have to say two things: this book is very long (likely the longest one I’ve read this year), and it’s also very sad (but we are dealing with the post-apocalypse here, so maybe that was a given but I still wasn't expecting it). If I had to liken what’s happening in this book to something I’ve seen on the screen, I’d have to compare it to the TV show Lost. Just like in Lost, The Passage deals with multiple characters (including their individual histories and vantage points) and the whole story is like a big puzzle that gets put together very slowly.

I liked this book A LOT. It made me think about death a lot, it made me cry once, and it scared me and it shocked more times than I can remember. As much as I tried figuring it out, Justin Cronin still got me in the end.

Anyway, let’s get back to what this post is really about: The Casting Call. All I can say is that I hope Ridley Scott (who’s currently working on the movie-version of The Passage with the Fox Network) is somewhere out there taking copious notes.

Cast & Crew:

The Pre-Viral Years:

Amy Harper Bellafonte: Amy is the main main character of the book. When we first meet her, she is a six year old girl living a nightmarish life. After her mother, a prostitute, abandons her at a convent, Amy is chosen to be a specimen for the US ARMY-sponsored experiment NOAH. Once they’re done transforming her, Amy becomes a photophobic mutant with stunted aging.

Casting Callback: Destiny Whitlock – Whitlock is actually nine not six, but I think that’s insignificant in light of the fact that Destiny just has this look about her that’s very Amy: young but wise and haunted.

Special Agent Brad Wolgast: Wolgast is an FBI agent sent to queue human “specimens” for the NOAH experiment. He in his 30’s, divorced and a little depressed. But he is a good man, with a good heart and tries to do what he can to save Amy.

Casting Callback: Sean Penn – Yeah yeah I know, Sean Penn is not 30, not even close, but he is like my most favorite actor EVER and I know that he could play the role of Wolgast better then ANYONE else (except for Viggo Mortensen….maybe) and this is my movie, so I get to do what I want. Sean Penn it is!

Special Agent Phil Doyle: Doyle is Wolgast’s partner. He is younger, better looking and likes to follow the rules exactly the way the job dictates. He is not a villain; he just knows how to separate his profession from his personal life.


Casting Callback: Patrick Wilson – Patrick Wilson is a certified hottie with a bit of a mean streak…should a movie role call for it. He’d be a kickass Sean Penn sidekick.


 

Sister Lacey Antoinette Kudoto: Lacey is the nun that takes care of Amy when her mother abandons her at the convent. Lacey is from Sierra Leone and has a very earthy and spiritual essence.


Casting Callback: Viola Davis – Viola Davis is pretty awesome and every time I read about Lacey in the book, Viola's face popped up in my head.


 
Richards: Richards is the ultimate villain in the pre-viral years. He is a ruthless and calculating and would do anything to keep the NOAH experiment afloat.


Casting Callback: Kevin Bacon – For this role, Kevin Bacon just needs to channel that menacing vibe he had when played Wade in the movie Sleepers.

Post-Viral Years:

Amy Harper Bellafonte: When we’re reunited with Amy in the post-viral years, she looks anywhere between 13 and 16 years old and can no longer communicate using speech (at least not initially); her expressions have to say everything she cannot.

Casing Callback: Dakota Fanning – I am convinced, CONVINCED, that Justin Cronin wrote this older Amy with Dakota Fanning in mind (I mean, he did sell the movie rights to the book before it was even halfway finished.) And for a role that needs one’s expression to substitute their speech, there is no one out there that would do it better then Dakota.

Peter Jaxon: Peter is the main character during the post-apocalypse years. He is an integral part of the California colony of survivors and is an important member of their crossbow militia. In many ways, Peter becomes Amy’s protector during this time.

Casting Callback: Evan Ross – Sigh. I’m not convinces that Evan Ross can pull off a role as dramatically and physically challenging as this one, but he just has the right type of look for Peter.
 
Theo Jaxon: Theo is Peter’s older brother. He is portrayed as the main leader of the California colony of survivors, but he isn't quite up to be playing the role the hero everyone thinks he is.

Casting Callback: ? – I don’t know guys. I was really drawing a blank with Theo. These Jaxon boys are tough



Sara Fisher: Sara is a blonde nurse, who (almost) singlehandedly takes care of all the ailments experienced by the members of the colony. She grew up with Peter and has some unrequited romantic feeling for him. 

Casting Callback: Evan Rachel Wood –I’ve seen Evan Rachel Wood play so many different roles perfectly. She’d have this one down too, I’m sure.



Alicia Donadio: Alicia is a redheaded hot-head who is the best crossbow guard in the survivors’ colony. She is fierce but also very reckless, which sometimes endangers the colony.

Casing Callback: Lily Cole – Lily Cole is so gorgeous! That alone, and the fact that she is a redhead, makes her the perfect Alicia Donadio. Ah well, it’s not like this would be the first time an actor got a role simply because of their looks.



Michael Fisher: Michael is Sara’s younger brother and the colony’s reclusive mechanic/electrician. He is the first one to solve the mystery surrounding Amy’s agelessness.

Casting Callback: Eddie Redmayne – Eddie Redmayne is a decent actor and definitely has that i-don’t-go-out-into-the-sun-much-because-I-like-beings-indoors-playing-with-transmitters look about him. If he wasn’t an actor, he'd be a physics PhD student for sure!



Sanjay Patal: Is the stand-in (old-generation) leader of the California colony of survivors after the disappearance of Theo Jaxon. He is a very unfair leader whose decisions are based on the biases he has against the Jaxons.

Casting Callback: Ben Kingsley – Is anyone even questioning why I made this selection?

 
 

Mausami Patal: Maus is another brilliant crossbow guard for the colony’s militia. But she needs to step down from that role when she becomes pregnant. She is described as very beautiful and headstrong.

Casting Callback: Freida Pinto – Well, Freida Pinto certainly is very beautiful and I just want to see her star in more movies.

Greer: Greer is a major of the Army of the Republic of Texas. He befriends Peter, Alicia, Sara, Michael and joins their group when they decide to trek back to the original grounds of the NOAH project.

Casting Callback: Aaron Eckhart - Greer is another character that's hard to cast, but I think Aaron Eckhart could pull of pretty much any role, so I'll just use him as a filler here.




Whew!

Director/Producer: Ridley Scott (well, they've already picked him, so why not.)

Soundtrack: I think Hans Zimmer would do a decent job composing a score for this movie.

Lit Snit Book Club - August

To celebrate the end of summer and our brand new home for Lit Snit we're reading Justin Cronin's post-apocalyptic adventure The Passage, a book we've heard nothing but good things about. 
We hope you'll join us at the end of the month to discuss this thrilling new novel.  If all the good buzz isn't enough to persuade you to check The Passage out, here's a preview courtesy of the publisher.

LitSnit Book Club

One of the best things about finishing a good (or even bad) book is discussing it with some fellow book lovers. Here at Lit Snit there's nothing we love more than talking books so we thought we'd organize our very own book club, LitSnit-style. We've chosen books for the rest of the summer, since this is the time we all do the most traveling and, incidentally the most reading. We hope you'll join us each month for our discussions!

June

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Summary: High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

July

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Summary: Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger.

Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends — view one another.

A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

August

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Summary: “It happened fast. Thirty-two minutes for one world to die, another to be born.”

First, the unthinkable: a security breach at a secret U.S. government facility unleashes the monstrous product of a chilling military experiment. Then, the unspeakable: a night of chaos and carnage gives way to sunrise on a nation, and ultimately a world, forever altered. All that remains for the stunned survivors is the long fight ahead and a future ruled by fear—of darkness, of death, of a fate far worse.

As civilization swiftly crumbles into a primal landscape of predators and prey, two people flee in search of sanctuary. FBI agent Brad Wolgast is a good man haunted by what he’s done in the line of duty. Six-year-old orphan Amy Harper Bellafonte is a refugee from the doomed scientific project that has triggered apocalypse. He is determined to protect her from the horror set loose by her captors. But for Amy, escaping the bloody fallout is only the beginning of a much longer odyssey—spanning miles and decades—towards the time and place where she must finish what should never have begun.

With The Passage, award-winning author Justin Cronin has written both a relentlessly suspenseful adventure and an epic chronicle of human endurance in the face of unprecedented catastrophe and unimaginable danger. Its inventive storytelling, masterful prose, and depth of human insight mark it as a crucial and transcendent work of modern fiction.

We're all really looking forward to the start of The LitSnit Book Club this summer. We hope you'll join us each month to discuss these great books!