Get Broken Country book club questions to better discuss Clare Leslie Hall’s thought-provoking, emotional Reese’s Book Club pick. This novel blends elements of romance, family drama novel, historical fiction, and courtroom mystery into one captivating read you can binge in one or two sittings, as I did.
You’ll also get book club ideas and printables like a bingo card game to easily make your meeting fun and topical. Let’s get literary!
Quick Recap: What Broken County Is About
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall begins in 1968 in the English countryside with a dead farmer, but there is more than one possible victim, and it’s also unclear whether it was an accident or a murder.
Beth is a mother grieving the tragic death of her young son, Bobby, when this shooting death occurs within her farming family, which includes her husband, Frank, his brother, Jimmy, and their father, David. The impetus was the return to town of Beth’s first love, Gabriel, and his young son, Leo, which sets off a chain of events that lead to the penultimate gunshot.
Woven within this plot are also threads about secrets, family duties, class differences, gender differences, betrayals, forgiveness, and second chances. This five-star read is bound to be a book club smash hit for a long time to come.
Read more in my full review of Broken Country.
Broken Country Book Club Questions (Without Major Spoilers)
Why do you think the author chose Broken Country as the title?
Why did the author choose the 1960s in the English countryside as the setting for this novel?
The novel begins by telling us, “The farmer is dead. He is dead, and all anyone wants to know is who killed him.” Do you like it when stories start with a dead body like this?
Did you know who was on trial and who was killed, or did it surprise you?
How do lambs symbolize humans in Broken Country?
Did you enjoy the courtroom drama scenes?
Discuss this quote from the first page: You can live a whole lifetime in a final moment.”
Discuss how violence on the farm foreshadows this death.
What would have happened if Gabriel and Leo hadn’t come to town?
Compare and contrast Frank and Gabriel.
Compare and contrast Frank and Jimmy.
Were Beth and Gabriel in love or lust?
What do Frank and Gabriel each see in Beth?
Did you like the love triangle trope?
Discuss the role of Beth’s parents in her sexual health as a teen at a unique time in history.
Whom should Beth have chosen?
Gabriel’s mother, Tessa, is a minor character, but she plays a significant role in his love life. Discuss how she shaped it.
Did you like the way the timelines skipped around?
Do you like it when authors use diaries as plot devices as Hall did with Gabriel’s diary?
Did you like that the book’s sections were ascribed to different characters, or did it confuse you?
Why did the author choose such a graphic and memorable birth for Bobby?
What was the significance of how Bobby died?
How did the Johnson family members manage their grief?
Describe Beth’s and Frank’s relationship after Bobby’s death.
Describe Beth and Louisa as mothers.
Describe Frank and Gabriel as fathers.
The gravity of Jimmy’s relationship with alcohol is hinted at throughout the novel. Did you think it would come to a head?
Should Frank have placed more boundaries in allowing Beth to work with Leo?
Discuss the role of the small town in the trial.
Was your vote guilty or not guilty?
The book has numerous plot twists. Did you see them coming?
Is Beth a villain?
Is Frank a hero?
What are Frank’s greatest driving motivations in life?
Beth and Gabriel are similar in their love of literature as youths. Discuss how gender affected their life trajectories as they came of age.
Likewise, discuss how class affected Beth’s and Gabriel’s life trajectories as they came of age.
How did nature influence the plot?
Beth says: “People say you can’t love two people at the same time, but you can, and I do.” Do you agree?
Why didn’t Beth tell Gabriel the truth until the end?
Discuss the role of forgiveness in the novel.
Did the novel end appropriately for each major character?
What do you think became of Gabriel’s and Leo’s lives?
How did the last page make you feel?
What was your favorite music reference?
What was your favorite literary reference?
In just one word, what was this book most about for you?
Broken Country blends many genres, including romance, family drama, and courtroom mystery. Which one stood out the most to you?
Reese Witherspoon’s production company is adapting Broken Country to film. Who should star in it?
This is such a thought-provoking book. What would you ask the author about this book if given the opportunity?
What similar books would you recommend to those who loved Broken Country?
Free Printable PDF Discussion Questions and Bingo Card Game
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Broken Country Book Club Ideas
- Eat: Traditional English fare is consumed in Broken Country, including tea and biscuits, potatoes, green beans, steak, chicken and ham pie, jam tarts, and honey-roasted sausages (Bobby’s favorite food).
- Listen: Music referenced in the novel includes Elvis, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dickie Valentine, Chuck Berry, the Byrds, the Supremes, Little Richard, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, and Rosemary Clooney.
- Do: Flower pressing and poetry writing occurs Broken Country and would be fun to do with a group. You can also take a flower arranging class.
- Read: Book pairings can include the authors referenced in the book, such as Shakespeare, Keats, Wordsworth, Emily Dickinson, P.G. Wodehouse, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Mary Shelley, Oscar Wilde, T.S. Eliot, John Steinbeck, W.H. Auden, Graham Greene, Henry James, Marcel Proust, Mary Oliver, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, and D.H. Lawrence.
Related Book Club Posts
If you loved these Broken Country book club questions, discuss these at your next meeting:
- Hello Beautiful Discussion Questions (family drama with a love triangle)
- Tom Lake Discussion Questions (family drama and love triangle with a mother’s secrets)
- Hamnet Book Discussion Questions (Shakespeare and his wife cope with the tragic death of their young son)
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
