Discussion questions (spoilers)
So, let me start by saying I just recently read Survivor after a friend lent it to me months ago, I tend to procrastinate. I'm sorry I did, such a great read. I've picked up Lullaby, and Choke because I want more of Chuck's work.
Now I have some questions and comments that maybe some of you out there can help with. I touch on some plot points so if you haven't read the book yet, beware.
First I believe that the narrator (Presumably Tender Branson) is the killer of the Creedish Cult members. He offers tips on how to get out bloodstains and patch bullet holes. He says that the trick is to forget how fast things like suicides, accidents, crimes of passion can happen. Concentrate on the stain until your memory is erased, and practice makes perfect. He says he has a talent for hiding the truth. A god given talent for committing terrible acts. A natural gift for denial.
I say presumably, because I'm unsure if in fact it's Tender telling the story or if Adam is. I tend to lean towards Tender because there is alot of detail that only the person would know. However are we sure that what we are being told is 100% true. The person is leaving a sworn statement as it were on this black box, but being that it will end up with him not being found alive it wouldn't matter if the story was true or not. He's just concerned with public perception.
The thought of the story he's telling being untrue (partially or not) brings me to question the existence or involvement of Fertility in the book. Tender states in the beginning that he planned the hijacking by himself. But later we find he didn't plan the hijacking, it kind of just evolved into a hijacking by Fertility's doing. Why is it that Fertility knows all, but the pregnancy was a surprise. Was she in fact pregnant or maybe lying. Fertility's brother is supposed to be buried in a crypt, how is his remains now cremated and in an urn?
Finally some questions on Adam. In two parts of the book Tender describes Adams eyes. When he talks about the night Adam was cutting his hair, his eyes are brown. Later when they are on their way to the Creedish compound his eyes are blue. Tender says looking at his brother is like looking in a mirror, so if Adam was to kill Tender and take his place no one would really know the difference. It's stated that the effects of the tanning ect. were gone so he no longer resembled the famous "Savior" on tv.
If Adam is only three minutes older than Tender, and at the age of 17 the children are either married or sent to the outside world, how is it that Adam tells Tender of his trip to the outside world when he had to register his marriage to Biddy Gleason. They share the same birthday so Tender would have been sent out the day Adam married.
Finally Adam says that when his wife was giving birth to their "first child"....but then says the child died, his wife screamed then she died. So why the first child comment?
That is all I have for now. Any thoughts or help on any of these points, or if could add to them, is appreciated.

