WellRead’s October 2021 selection was Love & Virtue by Diana Reid. From the author herself, Love & Virtue “explores contemporary themes—consent, feminism, virtue signalling, class, institutional privilege—but I’ve also tried to touch on a universal, unanswerable question: what does it mean to be a good person? And is there a difference between being a good person, and seeming to be a good person?”
Use these discussion questions to engage with the book further, whether in a book club with friends, or just on your own as you digest the story.
Reading questions for Love & Virtue by Diana Reid:
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What does the book have to say about material wealth and moral poverty and how the two intersect?
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The book is centred on the premise ‘are you a good person, or do you just look like one?’ What does that mean to you, and why do you think it's of interest to readers today?
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Do you think our morals are defined purely by social context, or is there a universal morality?
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Love & Virtue is an Australian campus novel. What makes a university campus the ideal setting for exploring big subjects like sex, power and consent? And what have been some of your favourite campus novels?
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Reid interrogates the different ways people can exploit their power (social class, wealth, beauty, gender, occupation). How did Love & Virtue make you reflect on power dynamics?
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Michaela and Eve are two intelligent, powerful women. You could argue they are flip sides of the same coin. What do you think Reid was trying to achieve with these two as the central characters?
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Eve says: "Wouldn't it be nice if society evolved to a place where sex could be clean and transactional, where everyone is positively consenting and, like, of the same generation?" Discuss!