The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes

 

Characters
Baileyville WPA Packhorse Library	Library Patrons	Townspeople
Margery O’Hare Alice Van Cleve Beth Pinker Izzy Brady – polio   Sophia Kenworth – worked at night, kept records and repaired books, made The Baileyville Bonus from ruined magazines and books   Kathleen Bligh   Mrs. Lena Nofcier – chairman of the Library Service for the Kentucky WPA   Mrs. Brady – local woman in charge of library	Nancy Stone Phyllis – sister, bedridden   Muellers: Mr. Mueller - miner Wife and four children   Horner family: Jim Wife - deceased Mae and Millie   Mrs. Beidecker – schoolteacher   Bligh family: Garrett – husband, ill Kathleen Two children	Sven Gustavsson Virginia Alice O’Hare – daughter with Margery   Mr. Geoffrey Van Cleve Dolores – deceased wife Bennett – son, Alice’s husband Annie – maid   Hoffman Mining   Peggy Foreman – Bennett’s old girlfriend   Fred Guisler   Clem McCullough Daughters – Verna and Neeta   William Kenworth – Sophia’s brother

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       Why did Bennett marry Alice in the first place?

2.       Were you surprised when Peggy, his second wife, came to the library to borrow the “little blue book?”  What was your theory about Bennett and his wives?

3.       Discuss Alice and her actions such as volunteering for the library, giving away two of Dolores’ dolls, standing up to Mr. Van Cleve and the minister using their own words, etc. 

4.       Was Margery right to influence the miners about selling the rights to their land to Hoffman Mining for strip mining as well as distributing the “little blue book?”  Should she have avoided the controversies all together?

5.       In Chapter 23, Mrs. Brady stood up to Mr. Van Cleve, the McCullough family, and some of the townspeople at Margery’s trial.  Did her actions surprise you?  

6.       Verna lied and said that Clem had been borrowing books from the library and that he had gone out to return Little Women?   Do you think the judge, jury, and townspeople really believed her?

7.       Did you like the ending?

8.       Were you surprised when Mr. Van Cleve beat Alice?  Why didn’t Bennett do anything?  What would Dolores have thought of his actions?

9.       The story line that was not tied up at the end was what happened to the Van Cleves.   Bennett quietly told Alice that the sheriff had not spoken with Verna and Neeta and he also told her that he was going to shore up the slurry dams with concrete even though his father had not yet agreed to do so.   What do you think happened to the mines and Mr. Van Cleve?

10.   What did the quotations at the beginning of the chapters add to the book?

11.   Besides the power of books and reading, what other themes were addressed in the novel?  What do you think the main theme was?

Dear Edward, by Ann Napolitano

 

Characters
Flight 2977 – June 12, 2013	Others
Adler family: Bruce Jane Jordan – Mahira, girlfriend Eddie   Linda Stollen - pregnant ·       Gary – boyfriend   Florida – multiple lives, bells in skirt   Benjamin Stillman - soldier, wounded, colostomy ·       Gavin – friend ·       Lolly – adopted grandmother   Mark Lassio – businessman ·       Jax – brother, girlfriend Tahiti   Crispen Cox - businessman, disabled, author ·       Louisa – first wife ·       Harrison Cox -son ·       Private nurse   Veronica – flight attendant   Dr.  Nancy Louis	Lacey and John Curtis – Jane’s sister   Besa – neighbor Shay – daughter, Edward’s friend   Dr. Mike – therapist   Principal Arundhi – grows ferns   Mrs. Tulane – gym teacher   Margaret – girl Edward pushed in gym class   Madame Victory – fortune teller

For Discussion:

Note: Pages are from paperback edition.

1.       Did the author do a good job describing what it is like to be an airplane passenger?  She wrote, “The passengers are pulled into themselves: the long flight has only just begun, and they need to get used to this new space…They resign themselves to the new normal, one by one” (page 44).  Could you relate?

2.       Edward was most comfortable wearing Jordan’s clothes and he noticed that Lacey was wearing one of Jane’s blouses in January 2014 (page 133) to help her be “brave” and one of her sweaters in January 2016 (page 222).  How did these clothes comfort them?  Do you have any “comfort” clothes?

3.       In June 2015, Edward thought that while he “understands the adults’ desire for him to just be healed – how could they really understand what he’s been through?  But he feels like Lacey should know better” (page 164).  Was he hoping for too much from Lacey?  Should she have been handling things better or differently?

4.       Was Edward’s dependence on Shay a positive or negative?  Should he have been allowed to sleep on her bedroom floor for two years? 

5.       What did you think about the idea that people felt compelled to talk to Edward and tell them things?  Dr. Mike explained that they “want to share something extraordinary about themselves, because you’ve experienced something extraordinary” (page 117).  Did this seem probable to you?  Would you have wanted to tell Edward something about yourself?

6.       In the same vein, what did you think about the letters from victims’ families asking Edward to do something such as taking photographs like Dr. Louis, writing to a victim’s children, or walk the Great Wall of China?  Why did reading these requests suddenly help Edward sleep (page 239)?

7.       Shay compared Edward to Harry Potter because he “survived a terrible attack that no one should have been able to survive” and has “a scar like Harry Potter too. And you were taken in by your aunt and uncle” (page 74).  Was this helpful to Edward?

8.       Margaret knew that there were 11 Asian people on the plane.  When she talked to Edward about this, he felt that she “has just given him confirmation that feels like a puzzle piece locking into place and he was grateful” (page 208).   By this time, he had memorized the names of the other passengers.  Why did her comment provide relief to Edward?

9.       How did Florida and her multiple lives fit into the story line?  In the photograph taken the day of the memorial’s dedication, there was a curly-haired toddler looking at the grass instead of the sculpture.  Did you think that was Florida?

10.   In July 2013, Laney and John receive a binder with pictures of all the items found at the crash site and asking them to identify which belonged to their family members.  John wanted to keep it from Edward because Dr. Mike said their “job is to protect him” but Laney said she didn’t “want to lie to him.  I think he should be able to see the information, so he can make sense of it himself” (page 84).  Who do you think was correct? 

11.   Three years later, in March 2016, Edward and John have a conversation in the garage and John admitted that he and Lacey had withheld things from him because they were worried that Edward would commit suicide.  Edward replied, “I would not have done that to you…because I know what it’s like to be left behind” (page283).  On page 299 we read that “the atmosphere in the house has changed since Edward confronted his uncle in the garage.”  Was it possible to have had that conversation earlier in Edward’s recovery?  Was it right for John and Lacey to keep things from Edward?

12.   Why did Edward have issues with food?  To him, food seemed “not only unnecessary but irrelevant” (page 60).  He couldn’t “bear the idea of food that changes form in any way. Sloshing was intolerable, and he didn’t want anything with bubbles” (page 61).

13.   When Lacey was trying to get Edward to eat, she pleaded with him, “Please don’t do this…If Jane knew how badly I was doing at taking care of you…” (page 60).   Was she doing a bad job?  Was there anything she could have done differently?

14.   Discuss Louisa Cox.  Why did she send books to Edward (Cox’s business book, a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, and Harrison’s poetry book as a graduation gift)?   Were you surprised that she was invited to the high school graduation ceremony?

15.   Did you think the adults in the novel could or should have treated Edward differently?  Was it possible for him to recover any faster or at all?

16.   One of the criticisms of the book was that many of the characters were stereotypes.  Do you agree?

17.   Did you enjoy the reading experience?  Did you like the way the book was organized – how it kept switching between Edward’s current life and the last hours on the plane?

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

 

Characters
Missing Hospital, Ethiopia	Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, New York	Others
Sister Mary Joseph Praise Thomas Stone Marion Shiva ShivaMarion   Matron   Dr. K. Hemlatha (Hema) Dr. Ghosh   Rosina Genet Zemui (Genet’s father)   Almaz (Ghosh’s servant) Gebrew   Nurse/Staff Probationer – Naeema – became a surgeon   Ed Harris – from sponsoring church in U.S.   Tsige – waited to take baby to hospital and he died	Deepak Jesudass – Chief Resident   Thomas Stone   Tsige – “Queen of Sheba” restaurant   Genet   Hema Shiva	Sister Anjali – died on ship   Thomas Stone’s parents: Justifus Stone – syphilis and alcoholism Hilda Stone   George Ross – Thomas’ guardian after parent’s illness and death

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. Discuss Matron’s deception of the supporting churches regarding how their money was spent.  Do you think this was justified?
2. Discuss the Nurse Probationer.  She was proficient at book knowledge, but did not have “Sound Nursing Sense.”   What do you think is the balance between book knowledge and instinct in professional success or any other situation such as motherhood?
3. Discuss the minor sub-plot of the Nurse/Staff Probationer.  How was she able to come into her own?  Were you surprised she became first a surgeon’s assistant for Shiva and then a surgeon (page 652)?
4. Discuss the parable of the slippers on pages 350 & 351.  Ghosh told Hema and the boys that “The slippers in the story mean that everything you see and do and touch, every seed you sow, or don’t sow, becomes part of your destiny” (page 350).  How does this story explain life?
5. In chapter 26, when a soldier tried to take Zemui’s motorcycle, he had an accident riding away, caused by Marion and Genet giving him wrong directions about how to start it.  After he crashed, Marion tried to help by removing the gun pressing into his ribs and, in the process, shot and killed him.  Was Marion guilty of murder?
6. Did you like the inclusion of the detailed medical information along with the story?  Did this add or detract from your enjoyment of the novel?
7. How do you think the early illness and death of Thomas Stone’s mother shaped his adult life?  How did his own illness and abandonment of his father affect his life?
8. In the operating room, Thomas always advocated “words of comfort” in the care of a patient.  Does his behavior regarding his sons contradict this feeling for the individual?
1. Could you understand why Stone left his twins behind when they were born?   Did he make the best decision for them?  What would have happened to Stone, the boys, Hema and Ghosh if Stone had stayed in Ethiopia?
9. Think about all of the events that were a result of Shiva having sex with Genet.  What do you think would have happened if this initiating event had not happened?  Do you think Marion was right not to tell anyone?
1. Why would Shiva betray his brother this way?
10. Discuss Marion’s reaction to the Shiva Stone Institute for Fistula Surgery and Shiva being featured in an article in the New York Times.  Marion thought, “Shiva had taken the first and only girl I loved…Now, he was making headlines in my own backyard, in my newspaper.  I had followed all the rules, and tried to do the right think while he ignored all the rules, and here we were” (page 575).
11. Marion stated that he and Shiva “…had an unfair advantage on the rest of the world” because of their bond.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?  (page 301)
12. At the end, Marion felt that he and Shiva were reunited into ShivaMarion and that Shiva lived in him (page 640).  Do you find this an interesting way for him to continue with his life?
13. Were you surprised that Marion went back to Ethiopia?
14. Discuss the ending.  Was it ethical that the doctors let Shiva donate part of his liver to Marion when it was still experimental?  Were you surprised his death was not related to the transplant?
15. If you read this book for the second time, was the second reading different than the first because you had a general idea of the storyline?

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.