Book #22: Good Rich People, Eliza Jane Brazier

Summary:

A Good Morning America 'January Book That Can Get Us Through Anything'

A Most Anticipated Novel of 2022 by The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, PopSugar, Shondaland, Yahoo!, and Crime Reads

A destitute woman deceives her way into the guesthouse of a Hollywood Hills mansion and inadvertently becomes a target in the twisted game of the wealthy family upstairs in the next intoxicating novel from Eliza Jane Brazier. 

Lyla has always believed that life is a game she is destined to win, but her husband, Graham, takes the game to dangerous levels. The wealthy couple invites self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspires to ruin their lives. After all, there is nothing worse than a bootstrapper. 
 
Demi has always felt like the odds were stacked against her. At the end of her rope, she seizes a risky opportunity to take over another person’s life and unwittingly becomes the subject of the upstairs couple’s wicked entertainment. But Demi has been struggling forever, and she’s not about to go down without a fight.  
 
In a twist that neither woman sees coming, the game quickly devolves into chaos and rockets toward an explosive conclusion.
 
Because every good rich person knows: in money and in life, it’s winner take all. Even if you have to leave a few bodies behind.

Discussion Questions:

Many a book club has combusted from an explosive question, if you are using this guide for a book club, remember there are no right or wrong answers. Everyone will have different opinions based on their experiences. Listen. Make sure everyone is heard. 

 

1.     In the book, Demi says that people treat her differently because she doesn’t have money. Do you think this is true? Have you ever struggled to make ends meet? Do you feel that you were treated differently? How does society treat people who are struggling? 

 

2.     Why is Graham so bored? Do you think that having everything you want would get boring after a while? What would you do if you had unlimited wealth?

 

3.     Graham insists that Lyla is not like him and his mother. How is she different? What is it about Lyla that makes her not fit in with the Herschel family?

 

4.     Lyla has never considered herself to be a part of the games the Herschel family plays. Instead, she sees herself as an observer. Does that make her more or less culpable than the actual players? 

 

5.     Demi tries to escape her old life but is immediately followed into this new world by Michael. What does he represent for Demi? Do you think you can ever escape your past traumas?

 

6.     Margo loves her pet dog more than anything. Do you think pets are easier to love than people? Why or why not?

 

7.     Michael says that money is immoral. Do you think this is true? Why or why not? If yes, at what point does wealth become immoral? Is there a certain threshold one must cross?

 

8.     How are the privileged people treated in the book? How are the disadvantaged people treated? Do you think this portrayal is accurate? 

 

9.     Who is the most ‘bad’ person in the book? Who is the most ‘good’? Explain your answer. 

 

10.  This book looks at the dark side of extreme wealth as well as extreme poverty. Do you think money can buy you happiness? Why or why not?