READERS GUIDE

Introduction

“I’m sure some people don’t have ten and a half minutes of great happiness in their whole lives” (The Slow Waltz of Turtles, p. 95)
 
An Introduction to The Slow Waltz of Turtles by Katherine Pancol
 
            Over the past year, Joséphine Cortès’s life has changed for the better. Once a struggling medieval scholar “abandoned by my husband, rejected by my mother, harassed by my banker” (p. 10), she is now a bestselling novelist with a Paris apartment and a handsome—albeit moody—new lover. Yet, true happiness continues to elude her. So when she is almost murdered while strolling a nearby park, the forty-something mother of two realizes its time to listen to her heart.
            Ever since childhood, Joséphine has been eclipsed by her beautiful sister, Iris. As readers learned in The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, svelte and stylish Iris had a good life with her rich husband Philippe—until she hungered for fame as well as fortune. Iris convinced Joséphine to write A Most Humble Queen with the understanding that Joséphine could keep the profits as long as it was Iris’s name that appeared on the cover. But after Philippe left her and she was debunked as a fraud on national television, Iris suffered a nervous breakdown, and she now lives in a sanitarium.
            Joséphine feels guilty about Iris’s unhappiness—partly because Philippe has fallen in love with her in Iris’s absence—but she’s busy handling problems of her own. Her older daughter Hortense leaves home to start fashion school just as her younger daughter Zoé hits adolescence. To complicate matters further, Joséphine is certain that she’s seen her late husband Antoine—supposedly eaten by crocodiles in Africa the year before—riding on the Metro. 
            Naturally, Joséphine would like to share her burdens with her boyfriend, Luca, but he pays far more attention to his troublesome brother, Vittorio. When she finally gathers up the nerve to tell him about the well-shod man who attacked her with a knife, Luca responds by saying, “I can’t handle everyone’s problems. Let’s keep things light, all right?” (p. 39)
            While the old Joséphine would have meekly accepted Luca’s dismissal, the new Joséphine realizes that “Luca doesn’t pay more attention to me because I don’t pay attention to myself” (p. 41). With her best friend Shirley’s support, Joséphine decides to report the attack to the police—and to start treating herself as someone who deserves better. 
            But old habits die hard, and kindhearted Joséphine impulsively invites Iris to live with her until she can get back on her feet. She also adopts a stray dog and becomes entangled in hostile apartment politics. Meanwhile, in London, Philippe takes up with a younger woman while waiting for Joséphine to admit that she loves him. Then, a murderer claims two victims—one a teacher at Zoé’s school, the other a tenant in their building—and Joséphine finds herself in an awkward position with the police. 
            A wise, winsome, and utterly delicious follow-up to The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Katherine Pancol’s The Slow Waltz of Turtles enmeshes readers in Joséphine Cortès’s continuing search to find her place in the world—no matter who or what tries to slow her down.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Why does Joséphine wait so long to report her attack to the police? What might you have done in her situation?

2. Is the man Joséphine sees on the Metro really Antoine? If so, why is he pretending to be dead?

3. Is Zoé’s reaction to seeing Joséphine and Philippe kiss unfair? Is being a good mother more important than being happy?

4. Were you surprised to learn that Luca and Vittorio were one and the same person? Would he have eventually confessed his deception to Joséphine?

5. What is your take on Philippe’s relationship with Dottie Doolittle? Is either taking advantage of the other?

6. Do you believe in witchcraft? Is Josiane the victim of a curse or of postpartum depression?

7. What does Hortense’s encounter with Carlos and Agathe’s other mafia pals tell you about her? Will she eventually win Gary’s love? 

8. Do you feel some compassion for the two Hervés? Do their unhappy childhoods at all excuse their adult behavior? 

9. Despite knowing that their daughter was trapped in an abusive marriage, the Mangeain-Dupuys refused to help her because she ignored their initial warnings about Hervé. Do you agree with their decision? 

10. Is Hortense being callous or honest when she says, “As deaths go, it suits [Iris] fine. Besides, I don’t think she could’ve handled getting old. It would’ve been terrible for her!” (p. 400).

11. Would Joséphine have been able to endure everything that happens to her without Shirley’s support? Can a friend’s love adequately replace that of an absent or abusive mother? 

12. Did you read The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles? If so, how would you compare the two novels? Did you anticipate any of the events of The Slow Waltz of Turtles?

About this Author

Katherine Pancol taught French and Latin before becoming a journalist. She wrote for Paris Match and Cosmopolitan while writing her first novel in 1979. She then moved to New York City to study writing and screenwriting at Columbia University before returning to France. Her book The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles became a million-copy bestseller in France and was adapted into a film starring Julie Depardieu and Emmanuelle Béart. She currently lives in Paris.