Are you reading All I Want for Christmas is Hugh in your Book Club? Here are 14 great conversational questions TO help get your discussion going.
1. Henrietta has a very specific idea of what her great love story should look like. Where do you think those expectations came from — and how much do films, books and popular culture shape our own ideas of romance?
2. Henrietta comes to London with expectations shaped by her mother, films, books and fantasy. Have you ever visited somewhere you had romanticised in your head? Did the reality live up to your expectations? Why or why not?
3. Henrietta moves to London partly in pursuit of a new life. How much of moving abroad is about the place itself and how much is about the person we hope to become there?
4. Which relationship outside the central romance did you enjoy most, and why?
5. Which character would you most like to have a drink with? And which character would you absolutely avoid at the Christmas party?
6. How good are we, as a society, at making space for disabilities we cannot immediately see? Did the book make you question any assumptions about what disability is supposed to look like?
7. FND (Functional Neurological Disorder) can be difficult for other people to understand because symptoms may be invisible, unpredictable or misunderstood. How does the novel explore the gap between what someone is experiencing internally and what others assume about them?
8. Like Henrietta does with Albert, have you ever agreed to something unusual or out of character because you were romantically interested in someone? Where do you think the line is between being adventurous and ignoring your own instincts?
9. Graff has been called a great book boyfriend by reviewers. What does that mean? Do you agree? Which other fictional men fall into this category?
10. Have you ever felt unusually attached to a celebrity you’ve never met? What do you think makes some famous people feel familiar or emotionally important to us?
11. The title sets up a very particular romantic fantasy. By the end of the novel, what do you think Henrietta actually wants for Christmas?
12. If Henrietta really were the heroine of a Richard Curtis-style film, who would play her, Albert and Graff? And most importantly, Aunt Camilla?
13. What do you think Hugh Grant would think of Henrietta’s fascination with him?
14. And the crucial final question: which Hugh Grant film is actually the best one?