WellRead's February 2025 selection was The Knowing by Madeleine Ryan. We follow Camille as she takes the train to work (without her phone 😱) and lets her thoughts spiral in and out of focus. It's a story of millennial ennui, toxic workplaces and device-dependency.  

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 The Knowing by Madeleine Ryan:

• Camille’s internal monologue comes to us in spiralling sentences and tangential thoughts that play off each other. Did you find this similar to the way your own brain works or was it a different way of thinking that you hadn’t experienced before?
  
  
• Did you find Holly’s toxic behaviours reflective of managers you’ve had in the past? Was there a particular instance that hit close to home? Why do you think Ryan chose to make the toxic boss a woman, rather than a man?
  
  
• “Sometimes, Camille worries that she'll have to become a tyrant in order to overcome tyranny.” Do you think Camille became a tyrant in her own way to escape the toxic workplace? When she moves on – to a new workplace or her own business – how do you think this experience will alter her moving forward?
  
  
• We spend a lot of time with Camille’s thoughts, but we are also told a lot about her body, the physical pain and emotional turmoil she experiences each month. How did this make you consider women’s health in the workplace and the ripple effect it can have?
  
  
• There are times when Camille uses language or introduces an idea that may be considered inappropriate or not ‘politically correct’ if it were said aloud. How did you feel about these moments?
  
  
• Which parts of Camille’s narration did you find to be accurate to the millennial experience (either your own, or that of those you know)?

Please note, these questions were written and distributed in February 2025.