I have done several coffee shop dates with characters now, but this is the first contemporary/thriller character I have been on a date with!
Joe Thorne is the main protagonist, and narrator in C. J. Tudor’s fantastic novel The Taking of Annie Thorne. I recently read and reviewed this and bloomin’ loved it! Tudor is a fantastic writer, and Joe was a fabulous character. I read this via audiobook which was narrated by the incredibly talented Richard Armitage, who I have been a fan of since I watched North and South as a University student.
Joe is a man of little show and ponce; I think he would loathe to be in a coffee chain like Costa , or Starbucks. But he does love his caffeine – so I think a traditional ‘greasy spoon’ or small town cafe would be the setting for our date. He’d have coffee – probably take it black, and pop some paracetamol with it to ease his hang over.
I definitely wouldn’t start with ‘sorry about your sister, Joe’ because he doesn’t see the point of people saying sorry for things that they aren’t responsible for. Instead, I’d ask Joe about being an English Teacher (something we have in common). We would definitely have plenty of grumbling to do about the marking load (other subjects just don’t get it!) and about little ‘Timmy’ who is a constant pain in the arse. But beyond this I’d ask him what his favourite book is, which authors he loves, and which texts he enjoys teaching to teens.
After everything that has happened in Joe’s life, I’d want to ask him what has he discovered about himself? About life? What has he realised? How will he change now, if indeed he will? The ending of the novel gives a nifty twist that I didn’t see coming until Gloria (one of the characters) says something significant. I wonder how Joe recovers from this?
Joe would be a fascinating coffee date. But, I’m not sure he’d give much away!
You can see my other coffee shop character dates on the ‘Blog’ tag off the menu. There’s Professor Umbridge, Diana Bishop, Jane Eyre and more.
Mummy is Reading 