Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett

 

Characters
Cousins Family	Keating Family
Albert “Bert” – Deputy DA Teresa – first wife Holly Cal – died from bee sting Jeannette Albert “Albie”   (Bert and Beverly married and live in Virginia with Caroline and Franny.)   (Teresa lives in California with Holly, Cal, Jeannette and Albie.)   (Fix lives in California)	Francis “Fix” – policeman Beverly – first wife Caroline Frances “Franny”   Bonnie – Beverly’s sister Father Joe Mike – priest, married Bonnie   Leon Poser – author, wrote Commonwealth   Marjorie – Fix’s second wife   Jack Dine – Beverly’s third husband
Twenty years later:   Teresa – sick, died in hospital   Holly – Zen center in Switzerland   Jeannette - married Fode, one baby son Bintou – babysitter   Albie – married, one daughter	Twenty years later:   Fix – 93, cancer, married to Marjorie   Franny – married Kumar, two stepsons   Caroline – lawyer, married Wharton, one son

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1.       Discuss the four parents: Fix, Beverly, Teresa and Bert.  Why didn’t Beverly pay more attention to all of the children?  Were you surprised that Bert suddenly had to work more when his four children came to visit while Fix took vacation time when Caroline and Franny came back to California?  What did you think of Teresa sending the four kids to Virginia with no luggage?

2.       Why did the Cousins children’s visits to Virginia end after Cal died?  Were you surprised at this?

3.       Why did Albie set fires?    Should the adults have known and been able to prevent this? 

4.       How did you think Cal died before you got to page 255 and read about the bee sting?

5.       Would the children’s situation have been different if there was more adult supervision?  Should someone have known that the older children were drugging Albie with the Benadryl?

6.       Franny told Beverly and Bert that Fix was going to law school at night and was very proud that he was going to school at the same time he was working.   Caroline was mad she told them and hit her.  Beverly did not reprimand her because she “was afraid of her older daughter and she didn’t step in unless there was blood” (page 126).  What did you think of the relationship among Beverly, Caroline and Franny?

7.       Discuss Fix relationship with his daughters.  He “had favored Caroline even before he started law school…It was because Caroline’s hatred for Bert burned like a clean white flame, and because she went out of her way to make her mother’s life miserable and then report the whole thing back to her father” (pages 127-128).  Was it fair to everyone to encourage this?

8.       Regarding Caroline and Franny, the author wrote that “the real difference between Caroline and Franny was that Caroline cared. She cared about the law and tennis and her grades in classes…what her father said about their mother…Franny just wanted to go back to the car and read Agatha Christie” (page 128).  How does this difference explain what happened to Caroline and Franny later in life?

9.       When Leon and Franny spent the summer in Amagansett, were you surprised that everyone took advantage of Franny and saw nothing wrong with her waiting on them the entire time?   What would you have done in this circumstance?

10.   Did Caroline and Franny have a choice about helping Teresa at end of novel when she was sick?  Was it fair for Albie to ask?

11.   What did you think about Fix asking Franny to help with suicide?

12.   Was it fair for Leon to write a book about Franny’s family?  Aside from historical fiction, do you think this happens often with fiction writers?

13.   Would you have gone to see the movie?

The Great Alone, by Kristen Hannah

 

Characters
Allbright family	Kaneq, Alaska
Lenora “Leni” Ernt – father Caroline “Cora” – mother   Golliher – Cora’s parents   Leni and Matthew’s children: Matthew Jr. “MJ” Kenai Cora   Cora and Leni’s assumed names: Evelyn Chesterfield Grant Susan Grant	Earl Harlan – father Bo Harlan – son, POW in Viet Nam with Ernt, deceased Thelma Schill - daughter   Large Marge Birdsall Natalie Watkins   Tom Walker Geneva Walker – wife, separated, died when fell through ice when with Matthew Matthew – son, severely injured in fall Alyeska – daughter Atka – second wife   Calhoun Mulvey – Geneva’s boyfriend   Tica Rhodes – teacher   Dieter Manse - pilot

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Discuss the various characters.  Could you understand their motivations?
1. Could you empathize with Ernt, even if you disliked his actions?
2. What did you think about Cora’s parents?  How would you react if your daughter was in a terrible relationship and ran away?  Leni thought her grandmother was “a complex mixture or optimism and practicality” (pages 398 & 399).
3. When reflecting on their family dynamics, Leni thought, “Dad blew his temper and Mama somehow encouraged it.  Like maybe she needed to know how much he loved her all the time” (page 77).  Is that how you would describe their family dynamics?
4. Was it possible for Cora to leave Ernt?  

2. On page 20, Cora told Leni not to tell her father, Ernt, that Cora had visited her mother and got some money from her.  Leni thought that not telling, the omission of the truth, was the same as a lie.  What do you think?
3. At the end of chapter 5, when Leni met Matthew at the town barbeque, she felt sad because she could not tell him what her life was like.   She had always dreamed of having a friend, but in that moment realized that she, “couldn’t have a real friend because she couldn’t be one” (page 69).  Can you imagine what Leni’s life was like?
4. Were you surprised that the teacher, Tica Rhodes, was allowed to take the children from school and on a plane ride with Dieter Manse?
5. Many people in Kaneq had previously led normal lives and now were living very different lives.   For example, Large Marge was a prosecutor, Natalie was an economics professor, one woman (rumored to be a former policewoman) lived in a school bus and read palms, and one man thought he was married to a goose.  Were these people different before they came to Alaska, is that why they came, or did living in Alaska change them?
6. When Tom Walker started to make improvements in the town to attract tourists, the town was divided about if the town should change or not.  Was either side right or wrong?  Was there a middle ground?
7. In the article Leni wrote in 2009, she said that when living in Alaska, “you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away…” (page 438).  What personality characteristics are essential to thriving in an environment such as Alaska?  Could you?
8. Books were important to Leni and in her college application she wrote, “For as long as I can remember, books have been my safe place” (page 240). In the novel, the author specifically mentioned at least 14 books such as The Outsiders, The Lord of the Rings, The Thorn Birds, Interview with a Vampire, and some historical romances.  Why did the author choose these books?
9. Was Cora justified in killing Ernt?  Could she have avoided having Leni help with the disposal of the body?  Were you surprised when Curt Ward tricked Leni into confessing?  Was she too trusting?
10. Discuss your reading experience.    Did you like the ending?  Was it satisfying?

Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh

 

Characters
Novak family	Others
Father – miner, died Rose – mother Dorothy - oldest Georgie – oldest son Joyce Sandy Lucy	Evelyn Lipnic – George’s high school girlfriend   Gene Stusick – George’s best friend, married Evelyn, union president, mine foreman   Leonard Stusick – Evelyn and Gene’s son, graduated from medical school   Washington D.C.: Mag Spangler – high school classmate, helped Dorothy get situated Patsy Sturgis – Dorothy’s roommate Chick Rowsey – wounded veteran   Kip Quigley – Marion’s brother, cheated off George’s tests in college   Angelo Bernardi – son of undertaker, divorced, dating Dorothy, died in mine explosion   Susan Jevic – Joyce’s student, worked in library, married Arthur   Ed Hauser – vice principal, married Joyce
Dorothy – went to Washington D. C. for job, returned to Bakerton, affair with Angelo Bernardi   George: Marion – wife Arthur – son   Joyce – came home to care for mother and Lucy, went back college part time, became 8th grade teacher, married Ed Hauser, daughter   Sandy – unknown locations   Lucy – nursing degree from Pitt, returned to Bakerton, married Leonard

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1.       Why did Marion marry George and why did he marry her?  Marion was “unlike any woman he had ever known” (page 105).

2.       When the mine cave-in was happening, George told Evelyn, “I married the wrong woman, I made a terrible mistake” (page 287).   Later, when he asked her to marry him, she replied, “Oh, George, the years go.  You can’t have them back” (page 313).  Would George have been happier if he had married Evelyn?

3.       Why do you think many of the characters came back to Bakerton in the end?  For example, Lucy, Arthur, Sandy, Dorothy?

4.       What did you think about Joyce giving up her military career after four years and returning home to take care of Rose?  Would this be any different if the story was set in 2021?

5.       Joyce “longed to devote herself to something of consequence; of the paths open to her, only the military seemed meaningful enough” (page 117).   Even though Joyce was disappointed in the military, did she have any other options?  In the end, did she achieve her goal?

6.       Joyce paid for Lucy’s education, which Lucy seemed to expect, with the understanding that “she’d always been expected to leave…It was the sisters who stayed” (page 315).  Why was Lucy not able to stay away?

7.       When Lucy returned and ran into Steven Fleck and Connie Kulka at the diner, given what Lucy had achieved, why was she so miserable to see them (page 280-281)?

8.       Discuss Dorothy’s time in Washington D. C.  How did her roommate, Patsy Sturgis, and their friendship with Chick Rowsey, influence Dorothy’s life?

9.       What happened to Dorothy?  Mag Spangler called Joyce and had her come to Washington D. C. to get Dorothy.  She told Joyce, “Something is terribly wrong with Dorothy” (page 176).

10.   Discuss the importance of food in the story.

a.       Rose was not able to quit eating sweets after husband’s funeral.

b.       Rose encouraging Lucy to eat with her, even though Lucy was overweight and unhappy (pages 141-142).

c.       Lucy eventually lost her taste for food after friend pointing out she had a great figure (page 238).

d.       Traditional ethnic dishes mentioned in the story. 

e.       Dorothy cooking for Arthur, “an Italian soup he couldn’t get enough of…He had never eaten so well in his life” (page 323).

11.   Have you ever heard of “the trough dance?”  It is defined as “when a younger sibling gets married before an older sibling; the older sibling is supposed to get in the hog trough and dance. This is done to bless the younger sibling's wedding, as it was once believed to be bad luck for a younger sibling to marry before an older sibling” (www.megasound1.blogspot.com).  How do you think this made the older siblings feel?

12.   As you were reading the story, what did you think Sandy was doing during those years? Why do you think the author never filled in his story?

13.   Did you like the ending of the novel – pages 330-332 quickly wrapped everything up and pages 333-334 introduced new people to area?

*****

First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com and wordassociation.com.

The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd

 

Characters

Lily Owens T. Ray – father Deborah – mother, deceased   Rosaleen Daise – raised Lily after mother died   Calendar Sisters: August Boatwright June – teacher, played cello May – twin sister, April, deceased   Zachary Taylor – “Zach” – main helper with bees, football player, dreams of being a lawyer   Neil – principal at June’s school, married June   Daughters of Mary: Queenie Violet – Queenie’s grown daughter Lunelle – hat maker Mabelee Cressie Otis Hill Sugar-Girl – Otis’ wife   Clayton Forrest – attorney Becca – daughter Miss Lucy

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers from paperback edition.

1.       Why did June resent Lily for most of the novel?   Could you understand why she resisted marrying Neil for so long?

2.       Discuss May’s character.   Were you surprised at what happened to her at end of novel?  Consider the following:

a.       She sang “Oh! Susanna” which “seemed to be her personal way of warding off crying” (page 85)

b.       Her morning banana had to be perfect – no bruises (page 85).

c.       The stone wall she made and then tucked notes between the stones with things that upset her.

3.       Did you ever have “day-of-the-week” panties?  Was it a good way to describe how upset Lily was after May’s death to write that “I took to wearing my days-of-the-week panties out of order?  It could be Monday and I’d have on underwear saying Thursday.  I just didn’t care” (page 215).

4.       The novel was set in 1964.  Did it give you any insights into current or previous race relations?  Consider:

a.       When Lily first came to stay with the Boatwright sisters, she felt uncomfortable around June.  Lily realized, “This was a great revelation – not that I was white but that it seemed like June might not want me here because of my skin color.  I hadn’t known this was possible – to reject people for being white” (page 87).

b.       Lily’s realization that “I’d thought that white people and colored people getting along was the big aim, but after that I decided everybody being colorless together was a better plan” (page 209). 

5.       The novel was published in 2002.  How much do you think the context of the current times influences your appreciation or what you take away from a book?  If you read this book earlier, do you think your “reading” changed due to the upheaval of the current times?

6.       Besides race relations, what were the other themes in the novel?  How well do you think the author addressed them?  Did you gain any new insights?

7.       Discuss Zach and his dream of becoming a lawyer.  Lily told him, “You’ve got to hear of these things before you can imagine them,” but Zach replied, “You gotta imagine what’s never been” (page 121).  Do you think he will achieve his goal?

8.       Did you like the comparison between a bee hive and real life?  August told Lily, “The world is really one big bee yard, and the same rules worked fine in both places” (page 92).   Do you think these “rules” are valid?

a.       “Don’t be afraid, as no life-loving bee wants to sting you,”

b.       “Still, don’t be an idiot: wear long sleeves and long pants.  Don’t swat,”

c.       ”If you feel angry, whistle.  Anger agitates, while whistling melts a bee’s temper,”

d.       “Act like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t,” and

e.       “Above all, send the bees love.  Every little thing wants to be loved” (page 92).

9.       After learning Deborah’s story, could you understand how she could leave Lily with T. Ray?

10.   Did you feel any sympathy for T. Ray after his visit to Angela’s where he mistook Lily for Deborah?   Why or why not?

11.   Should everyone have told Lily the truth about what happened to her mother or should they have kept the truth from her?

*****

First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com and wordassociation.com.

The Valley of Decision, Marcia Davenport

 

Characters
Scott Family	Others
William – father Clarissa – mother   William Jr. Julia Gaylord – wife William III – son Angelica – daughter   Paul Louise Kane – wife, suicide Dickie – died in war ·       Ruth – wife ·       children Tommy - wounded in war Teddy – Tommy’s twin ·       Lauchlan – wife ·       Paul and Peggy - children   Elizabeth Ben Nicholas – husband Benjamin Jr. – son, wants to sell steel to Germans   Constance Giles Whitfield-Moulton – husband Clarissa “Clarrie” – died in childbirth ·       Evan Gregory – husband, died in war ·       Claire – daughter, married Anton   Edgar – 1900, Benedictine monk, gave ½ of shares to Constance and ½ to Mary	Rafferty Family Pat – father Mary Kathleen “Kate” Bridget - missing James – brother - organized Amalgamated union in mills, saved William Jr. life in mill. Killed William Sr.   Liska Family Charlie Liska – “Hunkie,” promoted by Paul to skilled position in mill Julka – wife Jerry – son Anton Hrdlicka – son, musician, met and married Claire in Czechoslovakia   Seldon Middleton – tried to broker sale of mill   Amalgamated Mamas   Jack Thomas - reporter

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 1989 paperback edition.

1.       When William came to the mill to see the first pouring in April 1880, he did not know where to walk and would have been killed if James Rafferty had not saved him.  Who was at fault?  Was it the father and Paul’s fault for not telling him what was happening and safely inviting him to come?

2.       Paul married Louise to preserve the legacy of the mill.  Would it have been possible for Paul and Mary to actually marry or for Paul and Louise to be happy?

3.       What did you think about Louise?  Was it fair to marry her when Paul was in love with Mary?  From the author’s description, would she have been able to function on her own or did she also need Mary?

4.       Why did Giles marry Constance and why did she marry him? When Mary came to England to help Constance, she gave Mary Giles’ dressing room.  When he complained, she replied, “I’ve been in this country long enough to find out how you bully your wives.  Well, just remember you’ve married an American.  And you’ll soon begin to find out what you’re in for!” (page 99).  Did Giles have any idea what he had done? 

5.       How would you describe Constance?  Driven, frivolous, selfish, a good friend and daughter?  What were her positive and negative characteristics? 

6.       What did you think happened between Edgar and Bridget, Mary’s sister?  Edgar said to Mary, “Every time I looked at you, I thought about what I’d done” (page 280). Would it have been different if Bridget was not Mary’s sister?

7.       Edgar told Mary, “you’re the living personification of everything saintly and good” (page 280).   Mary’s reply was, “But I’m not, I’m no different – from – you – from anybody – Holy Mother, we’re all alike” (page 281).  Were they all alike or was Mary “better” than the others?

8.       When Jim murdered William Scott on the bridge, who was at fault?   Should Jim have known the rumors were false and ignored them?  Did he have to shoot?

9.       Paul had a negative view of Phipps and Carnegie.  He told Selden Middleton that his father, “saw Carnegie crush and swallow up two of the most brilliant men in Pittsburgh.  That was the beginning.”  William felt so strongly about them because they “used the iron business as they did.  They used it to amass money and power for themselves.  They used it to kill competition” (page 305).  We tend to idolize Carnegie because of the libraries, so what did you think about this view presented in the novel?

10.   Obviously, Mary and the mill are the themes running through the entire book.  In 1918, looking back Paul said, “Only Mary and the mill have the qualities she stubbornly believes we have – as a family.  And she has pumped those qualities into us. She has always fought to protect the family and keep it the thing she believed or wanted it to be” (page 457).  What would the family have become without Mary?

11.   What did you think about the descriptions of “Hunkies” in Pittsburgh and also the difference between Slovaks and Czechs?

12.   Did reading Claire’s experiences and accounts of Germany in the mid-1930s change or expand your knowledge of the German people?  In this same vein, did you gain any new insight into the immigrant experience in Pittsburgh, especially how the “Hunkies” were treated?

13.   When Claire met Anton again in 1936, she thought he had found the secret to happiness.  He “had not only not eaten out his heart in futile protests that he could not be a virtuoso.  He had made the very best of his talent and in doing so had opened up the far richer, deeper well of creative genius” (page 533).  How would you translate his story into advice for a young person today?

14.   In talking with Claire, Julka defined courage and obedience on page 612 as:

a.       Obedience – “…how to obey a cruel command when the reason for it is a good reason…”

b.       Courage – “…to make decisions against everything you want.”

c.       How did Julka, Clair and Mary exhibit these qualities in their lives?

d.       Did any of the other characters?  How or how not?

15.   In the end, would Paul be considered a good business man?  In 1901 he could have sold the mill to US Steel, made a lot of money for everyone, and, according to Constance’s idea, been able to pursue his passion for metallurgy at a high salary.

16.   Marcia Davenport lived in Pittsburgh for only about two years in her early twenties.   How much do you think living in Pittsburgh added to your enjoyment of the novel?

The Miracles of Santo Fico, D. L. Smith

 

Characters

Father Elio Caproni Marta Caproni Fortino – widow, married to Franco Carmen – daughter Nina – daughter, blind Albergo di Santo Fico – hotel owned by Marta   Leo Pizzola Franco Fortino – married to Marta, killed in motorcycle accident, having an affair Guido Pasolini “Topo”   Maria Gamboni – weekly confessor Enrico – plumber, husband, reappeared after disappearing 30 years ago   Angelica Giancarlo – spied on by Leo while bathing, owned beauty parlor   Nonno – thought Leo was his youngest son, had gone with man during German occupation to shut off water to fountain, forgot where valve was   Solly Puce – mailman, twitch, romancing Carmen   Paolo Lambolo – family grazed horses on Leo’s land   The Miracles: Duke Casimo healed St. Francis of Assisi and fig tree – tree bore fruit daily as long as St. Francis was alive   The Mystery: Fresco painted in church – artist a mystery, did not age like other frescos

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       Discuss Marta, Carmen and Nina and their characters from Father Elio’s point of view:

a.       Marta – “humorless, slightly dangerous” (page 84) and “turned to stone” (page 85) after circumstances of Franco’s death.

b.       Carmen – “breath of fresh air…faint scent of brimstone…touch of wickedness” (page 85).

c.       Nina – “Elio recognized in her the hand of God” (page 86) and she “lived a life of grace: a grace he did not possess” (page 87).

2.       Discuss Leo’s character.  Was he a positive or negative character in the novel?

a.       He stole the fresco.

b.       With Topo’s help he devised the scheme to charge the tourists to tour the church and hear the story of the Miracles and the Mystery.

c.       Initially he lied to Father Elio about amount, and kept the extra, but later gave him the correct amount.

d.       He spied on Angelica while she was swimming (although she knew about it!).

3.       Do you think Leo purposefully manipulated everyone or was this just his personality?  For example, he always got Topo to do what he wanted, he arranged for Carmen to meet both Solly and Paolo at Brusco Point which could have been dangerous, and he tried to have Father Elio experience a miracle.  Again, was this positive of negative?

4.       How important was the character of Topo (Guido Pasolini) to the story?  On page 26, the author wrote about Topo’s idea to tell the story to the stranded English tourists, “Who could foresee such a harmless notion bringing such a world of trouble?”  Was it so terrible in the end?

5.       There were many secrets hidden by characters in the novel.  Which ones were eventually revealed?  Were you satisfied with the answers?  Were there other things in the novel that you felt were unresolved?

a.       Father Elio – He hoped God would forgive him for “his terrible sin” (page 2).

b.       Nonno – On page 151 he told Leo he was “sorry about the mountains.  I should have just crawled under the snow and stayed with you and your brother.  Everything’s been bad since I left you.”

c.       Nonno – “Why he bore a personal guilt about the fountain’s missing water was a mystery” (page 129).

6.       Why do you think restoring the water in the fountain had such an impact on the life of the town?

7.       Were you surprised to discover that the artist Giotto Di Bondone died 200 years before the church was built?  Who do you think painted the fresco?

8.       This book was published in 2003.  When you read about Leo’s experience as an alter boy for Father Elio, the author wrote, “Leo had always considered Father Elio to be God’s hand on earth; he’d certainly felt that hand across the back of his head and regions further south enough times” (page 89).  Remembering the publication date, what do you think the author meant?  What was your first thought?

9.       What was your favorite part of the book?

10.   Did you like the ending?  Was it satisfying?  Would you recommend this book to a friend?  Why or why not?