Julia and the bazooka cover

Julia and the bazooka

by Anna Kavan

Here are fifteen startling stories that reflect the weird, thrilling realm into which this brilliant English writer's dangerous life and powerful artistic drive propelled her - thirty years of seesawing stability and chaos: constant drug addiction, suicide attempts, productive work in painting and editing, two marriages and a son, long sojourns in mental hospitals, widely admired novels and short stories. Her stories penetrate the black holes of human consciousness and perception, a region of hypnotic games and seductive hallucinations where everything is animate, where the vertiginous panic and tough pride of the outcast merge with a tender, tranquil appeal to what is beautiful and lasting. (From the book jacket,first american edition published in 1975).

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?