Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Chapter 1
Written by Amanda
Edited by Rose / Krystal

Sookie Stackhouse is a 25-year-old from Bon Temps, Louisiana, and works as cocktail waitress at a local bar and grille called Merlotte’s which was owned and operated by Sam Merlotte. Sookie didn’t get out much and had very few friends, seeing how most people in Bon Temps thought she’s crazy. Sookie knows this is because of her disability, at least that’s what she calls it, for her, the ability to read others thoughts was something she tried to avoid.

Memorable Quotes:

Sookie: I’d been waiting for the vampire for years when he walked into the bar. (Page 1)

Sookie: Since he was being so ungracious, I felt I could do something rude, too, and I listened to him, opening my mind completely. And I heard… nothing. (Page 11)

Sookie: “Don’t you talk dirty,” I told him. “I won’t listen to that.” (Page 13)

Sookie: “Well, I’m Sookie Stackhouse, and I’m a waitress.” (Page 13)

Sookie: “The vampire Bill!” I said. “I thought it might be Antoine, or Basil, or Langford! Bill!” I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time. (Page 14)

Bill: “You will die unless you do as I say.” Bill told me. (Page 31)

Bill: “It was my fault they had a chance to get you at all,” he said. I could tell there was rage just under the calm surface of his voice. “If I’d had had the courtesy to be on time, it would not have happened. So I owed you some of my blood. I owed you the healing.” (Page 33)

Questions for discussion:

Why do you think that Sookie is so drawn to Bill? Is it simply the silence or is it something deeper?

What are your thoughts on Sookie’s “disability”, as she puts it? Do you think that she’s truly “disabled” or is she “crazy” as some people say?

Did something or someone in this chapter catch you by surprise?

Did you see any particular symbolism or little detail you have never noticed before while re-reading this chapter? Or did you notice anything strange if this was your first time?

Read and discuss more here.