From the author's website:
"In a shabby house in the new capital of Madrid, a lowly kitchen scullion hides a gift for little miracles.
But when her employer discovers Luzia Cotado’s secret talent, she demands Luzia use her illusions to win over the royal court.
Determined to forge a better life for herself, Luzia plunges into a world of power-hungry nobility, desperate kings, holy men, and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud blur. With the pyres of the Inquisition burning, she must use every bit of her wit and will to win fame and hide the truth of her ancestry—even if that means enlisting the help of the notorious Guillén Santángel, whose own secrets could doom them both."
Zoom information will be provided closer to the planned meeting: 12:00pm-1:00pm, January 29th, 2025.
SPOILERS! Discussion questions will be similar to the following (from LibroManiacs and ReadingGroupGuides)
Discussion Questions:
1) What role did religion play in the lives of Luzia, Hualit and Valentina? How was religion different from belief for them?
2) “Luzia had always been a liar, now she was a killer." What was Bardugo’s intent with this? What this a matter of Luzia evolving as a person. Or did she always have a dark nature which was simply revealed to us throughout the course of the book?
3) Valentina at the auto de fe, “After hundreds of years, if there were so many sinners left, what had the Inquisition accomplished? […] The machine had been built to consume heresy and impiety, so would it keep finding heresy and impiety to feed on?" Indeed, the Inquisition went on for over 360 years. What do you know of the Inquisition? Can you think of other institutions that have also fed on themselves this way?
4) Valentina thinks, “There are different kinds of suffering… The kind that takes you by surprise and the kind you live with so long, you stop noticing it.” Do you agree with her? What examples can you think of in the context of The Familiar? Are there other instances where you’ve seen this play out in today’s world?
5) “…every night she shuts the windows tight to guard against drafts, and every morning he dies and is reborn beside her. she reminds his heart to beat again, as she did so long ago. he kisses her fingers, and combs her hair, and he treasures her, as only a man who has lost his luck and found it once more ever can.” The Familiar pulls some big magic at the end of the book in order to save the two lovers. How did you find the ending? Was it clear and satisfying for you? Why or why not?