Small Great Things, by Jodi Picoult

NOTE:  One of my favorite quotes is “No two persons ever read the same book” by Edmund Wilson (1895-1971), a literary critic and writer.  My book group had a very interesting discussion about this book.  (We are all female, white, upper middle class and retired.)  The members who were nurses had trouble with the post-it note, saying that it was definitely against protocol in the hospitals where they had worked.   Another member was not able to finish the book because she found it too upsetting.  I have heard Peggy McIntosh speak (see the Bibliography) so had some previous experience with the idea of invisible racism.   I thought the book was extremely well written, important and addressed a topic that many people have not even considered.  It will be interesting to see how it is received by future generations.

Characters
Main	Others
Ruth Jefferson Edison – son Rachel >> Adisa – sister Hollowell family – employed Ruth’s mother as a maid Christine – daughter – childhood friend of Ruth’s Turk Bauer – White Supremacist Brittany – first wife Davis – deceased infant Tanner – Turk’s brother, killed in auto accident with black man Francis Mitchum – Brittany’s father Kennedy McQuarrie – Public Defender Micah – husband Violet – daughter Wallace Mercy – TV host Odette Lawton - prosecutor	Marie – Charge Nurse Corinne – friend Raine Tesco – introduce Turk to White Supremacist Group, later dropped out Howard – new to Public Defenders Office, black Roarke Matthews – Turk’s lawyer Deborah – Turk’s second wife Carys – daughter Judge Thunder

 For Discussion

NOTE:  Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1. Discuss the significance of the title.  Was it appropriate?
2. On page 49, Ruth thought that having a newborn and a teenager are similar because both are “…incapable of saying exactly what it is that’s causing pain.”  Do you think this is a good analogy?
3. What did you think Ruth should have done when Davis stopped breathing?
4. Should Marie or Corinne share some of the blame because they left Ruth alone with the baby?
5. Compare Ruth’s and Kennedy’s account of their luncheon meeting.  Kennedy’s chapter is on pages 188-197 and Ruth’s on 198-204.
6. Review Ruth’s explanation about how she feels in Kennedy’s chapter after Ruth’s statement in court (Pages 407-408).  For example, one thing Ruth says is that “But did you ever think our misfortune is directly related to your good fortune.”   Did the author do a good job of showing Ruth’s feelings?  Were you able to understand how she felt?
7. Kennedy said on two different occasions that she doesn’t even see color.  Do you think this is realistic or possible?
8. After their shopping trip when Kennedy and Ruth were sharing true confessions, Ruth stated that, “The reason we don’t talk about race is because we do not speak a common language” (page 265).  Do you think this is true?
9. Discuss the different characters.   Which character would you like to talk to in real life?  What were their various points of view and how did they change, if at all, throughout the novel?  Did the author do a good job of showing each character’s views?  
10. Was the ending and Brit’s discovery realistic?   Why would Brit’s father still pursue White Supremacy knowing about Brit’s mother?
11. Did the book make you think of race differently?  Were there any specific events in the book that surprised you or made you think?
12. Do you think the book would change anyone’s mind?
13. Would you have read this book differently if the author was a different race instead of white?   Would readers of different races understand the book differently?
14. How do you think this book will be discussed 20-30+ years from now?

*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.   Click on the upper right link.

The Japanese Lover, by Isabel Allende

NOTE:  This was an interesting book with a lot of story lines, so my discussion guide it quite long.  I think it will lead to great discussions!

Characters
Lark House	Families and others
Irina Bazili (Elisabeta) - aide Hans Voigt – director Lupita Farias - head of cleaning staff Dr. Catherine Hope – 2nd level resident Alma Mendel Belasco – 1st level resident, silk screen artist, Belasco Foundation, parents killed in WWII Jacques Devine “Frenchie” - died and left estate to Irina Lenny Beal – 1st level new resident Kristen	Belasco Larry (Alma’s son) and Doris Seth – lawyer, author, Alma’s grandson Pauline – lawyer, granddaughter Lillian and Isaac Belasco – took in Alma during WWII Daughters – Martha, Sarah Son - Nathanial - married Alma Samuel Mendel – Alma’s brother Fukuda Takao – gardener for Isaac Belasco, family interned during WWII Heideko – wife, blossomed in internment camp Charles – killed in war James – arrested in camp Megumi Ichimei – Alma’s life-long love Delphine – Ichimei’s wife Others Boyd Anderson – guard in internment camp, married Megumi Ron Wilkin – FBI Agent, rescued Irina Radmila and Jim Robyns – Irina’s mother and step-father

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition of the book.

1. The author made many observations about the elderly.   Do you think she was correct?  For example:
1. On page 31 she wrote “We want our loved ones to be safe, Seth.  But what they want for themselves is autonomy.”
2. On page 7 and 8, Dr. Hope observed that, “The elderly are the most entertaining people in the world…They have lived a lot, say whatever they like, and couldn’t care less about other people’s opinion.”
3. Page 13: “ …in itself age doesn’t make anyone better or wiser, but only accentuates what they have always been.”
4. Page 60: Dr. Hope said she was content, “Because I have time to spare, and for the first time in my life nobody expects anything of me.  I don’t have to prove anything, I’m not rushing everywhere; each day is a gift I enjoy to the fullest.”
5. Page 65: “However old one is, we need a goal in our lives.  It’s the best cure for many ills.”
2. Do you think a place like Lark House exists?  Would you be willing to move there?
3. One of the projects of the Belasco Foundation was to create green spaces in at-risk neighborhoods.  The Foundation felt that the green spaces transformed the neighborhood (page 23).  Is this realistic?
4. Isaac Belasco felt that doing good deeds was important and said that, “there is only one aristocracy, that of decency, and that this was not inherited or bought with money or titles, but was only gained through good deeds” (page 71).
5. When Alma first moved in with the Belasco’s she was very unhappy and cried every night.  Isaac stated that, “Childhood is a naturally unhappy period of our existence, Lillian.  It was Walt Disney who invented the notion that it has to be happy, simply to make money” (page 44).   Do you agree?
6. On page 31, the story said that Alma’s personality changed in a matter of two hours after a nap.  What do you think happened to change Alma?
7. Did you learn any facts or new insights about the Japanese internment during WWII?
8. Discuss Irina.   Did you pick up any hints early in the novel that all was not as it seemed with her?  How did you think she should respond to Seth’s offers of marriage?
9. On page 199, Irina starts a “Letting Go Group” because she saw that those with lots of possessions were more anxious than those with few possessions.  What did you think about this?
10. Discuss Alma regarding the following descriptions and information.  Did any of them change your thinking about Alma? 
1. Were you surprised when she did not want to marry Ichimei when she became pregnant?
2. In self-reflection on page 232, Alma realized that, “her greatest prejudice was that of social class.”
3. On page 252 she reflected that, “She never sacrificed herself for another person or an ideal: self-denial was not one of her virtues.”  How would Isaac react to this? (See #4)
11. Was it realistic that both Nathaniel and Delphine both ignored or supported the love affair between their spouses?
12. Were you surprised by the revelation of Nathaniel’s affair with Lenny?  Were you suspicious that there was more to Nathaniel’s story from the beginning?
13. When Seth told Alma about his father’s observations of Ichimei, he said that he had a kind of an aura (202) and that he could control his pulse and temperature (202).  What did you make of these observations?
14. What did Samuel’s story add to the novel?
15. Discuss your reading experience.   What were you thinking and anticipating as you were reading?

*****

First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and  Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.