READERS GUIDE
THE HIKE RGG1. The Hike opens with a visceral scene—in turns utterly terrorizing and startlingly majestic. What are some of the ways Lucy Clarke achieved this? Discuss how the prologue drew you into the story.
2. The four friends agree to the hike for different reasons and with varying attitudes. Which one of them did you relate to most and why?
3. Clarke captures the mountains of Norway with gorgeous detail. Discuss the book’s wild setting. To what extent does the landscape’s beauty lend itself to the story’s horrors? How vital is the overseas setting to the story?
4. Early in the novel, the four women are warned of the hike’s dangers, that the mountain “Blafjell is…a thin place.” What did you think about Liz’s decisions to forge on with the hike? Did you empathize with her as the story progressed? What was the biggest red herring to you as the reader?
5. In the first chapter, Liz is described as meticulous and efficient. Even as she packs for the trip, she notes “it was pleasing to be able to step out with everything she needed on her back.” At the same time, she is desperate for an adventure. To what extent is Liz actually willing to relinquish control? How does this grapple between ownership and release manifest in the story’s tragic outcomes?
6. Clarke is known for her skillful examination of the complexity of female friendships. Discuss how this theme plays out in the novel, with a view to the women’s life-stage.
7. Despite the horrors that take place on the mountain, the hike clearly liberates the women from the routine of their lives. To what extent are the women released from the areas of their life in which they previously felt “stuck”?
8. The Hike is written in multiple perspectives. Discuss how these perspectives come together to help build suspense.
9. Liz chooses a trip that the others describe as inaccessible. Do you think things could have panned out differently if they were all equally on board with the hike? How so?
10. Discuss your reaction to the ending. Did it shock you?
