43 pages 1 hour read

Blake Crouch

Recursion

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2019

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Essay Topics

1.

How does Blake Crouch connect the experience of love to the experience of time? How does love help the characters make sense of time?

2.

What is the role of science in this novel? Aside from being a science fiction writer, why does Crouch chose to make this novel science fiction rather than fantasy? Imagine that the scientific elements of Recursion were removed, and the memory chair was replaced by, for instance, an ancient magical pool that could send bathers back in time. How would the meaning of the narrative change?

3.

"Women in refrigerators” refers to a trope in which female characters die to further a male character's emotional development or character arc. When Meghan dies twice over, is she "being fridged” for the sake of Barry's personal growth? What about when Helena dies? Is Crouch subverting this trope, or not engaging with it at all? Provide a counterargument.