We recently had the pleasure of reading The Fish by Joanne Stubbs — a stirring, urgent, thought-provoking LoveReading Debut of the Month that follows three sets of characters to explore climate change through an environmental and emotional lens.

From Cornwall, to New Zealand, to Kuala Lumpur, an escalating situation of rising sea levels and marine creatures moving to (and surviving on) land is juxtaposed with escalating emotional extremes. Fear, denial, hysteria and violence come in the wake of the unsettling phenomenon, as does the questioning of long-held religious beliefs, the questioning of science, and the questioning of humanity itself. 

The characters’ respective crises pack resonant punch, revealing the spiralling, multi-faceted impacts of climate change. As such, The Fish lends itself well to lively book club discussions. Read on for some prompts to get things going.

1. How did the author of The Fish weave three narratives across the globe to form a unified story? Did you prefer one narrative over the others? If so, why?

2. “These aren’t like the normal floods.”

Did you relate to the characters’ responses to the unusual meteorological events they experience early on in the novel? 

3. “It’s a fish. Oh my god. A fish. It’s walking.”

How does the author create the sense of an escalating situation? Did the voyeuristic “hysteria” and various conspiracy theories ring true as responses that might happen in our world?

4. “I swear they choose the unattractive fish for the broadcasts, to rally us against them.” 

Why might the media want to rally people against the fish? Do you think Cathy is right about this? Can you understand why a group of men kicked and stamped on the fish on a New Zealand beach? 

5. “The country was in turmoil, politically and socially, and nature — that great beast of a woman — was out to get us all.” 

Discuss Cathy’s summary of Britain. Did it resonate with you?

6. “It’s like these kids are trying to, I don’t know, embrace the fish.” 

Why is Margaret so disturbed by the “furry fans” wearing fish and shrimp costumes?

7. What do the three sets of characters reveal about different responses to dramatic environmental change? Discuss in relation to Christian and scientific perspectives, and in relation to teenagers.

8. “Because I don’t understand all this science, I sometimes find it hard to have the same faith in it that Ephie has. I get distracted by the human response.” 

Do you understand how Cathy feels? Why do the fish cause Margaret to lose her faith? Discuss different forms of faith in the novel.

9. “Ricky doesn’t understand how he feels about it anymore. Maybe everyone was right… Maybe human intervention is the only solution. Get the tanks out.” 

How did you feel when Ricky questioned his initial instinctive response to the outbreak?

10. What impact do the fish have on the characters’ relationships? Had you considered this as an aspect of environmental change?

11. “How long will it be before everything in the sea turns on us? When they come, I will feel like we’ll deserve it.”

Do you agree with Cathy? Will we deserve what we get?

12. Discuss the author’s writing style. Did you enjoy the reading experience?

13. How did you feel after reading The Fish? Has it changed any of your views about what might happen to our planet?

If you’re interested in exploring more environmental themes at your book club, check out our reading group questions for Daylight Comes. And head here to browse a range of discussion prompts.

To discover brilliant books more from the publisher of The Fish, read our Industry Insights interview with Fairlight Books.