The Kitchen God's Wife, by Amy Tan

 

Characters
Louies	Kwongs
Jiang Sao-yen - father   Winnie – second narrator Sent to live with Aunt and Uncle Peanut – cousin   Wen Fu – first husband Mochou – stillborn first child Yiku – daughter, died when Wen Fu didn’t want doctor to stop playing cards to care for her Danru – son, deceased   Min - concubine   Jimmy Louie – second husband, deceased   Pearl Louie Brandt – daughter with Wen Fu, MS, first narrator Phil – husband Tessa and Cleo – children   Samuel – son   San Ma and Wu Ma – raised Winnie	Hulan “Auntie Helen” Jiaguo - husband Uncle Henry - husband   Mary Chou – daughter Doug - husband Jennifer and Michael - children   Frank   Roger ”Bao-bao” Mimi Wong – fiancé   Grand Auntie Du
Others
Wan Betty “Beautiful Betty” – telegraph operator, helped arrange divorce from Wan Fu   Little Yu’s Mother – helped women out of bad marriages

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition, 22^nd printing.

1.       The author switched narrators four times:  Pearl first, then switched to Winnie on page 61, Pearl on 397, and finally Winnie on 411?  Did this approach add to the story?  Did it take you a while to figure out what happened? 

2.       Pearl did not tell her mother, Winnie, that she had MS.  Pearl said the reason as that she did not her to worry, but Aunt Helen said, “This is her right to worry…She is your mother” (page 36).   Do you think Pearl was right not to tell Winnie?

3.       Discuss the role of women in a marriage.  When she was getting married, Winnie’s father told her, “From now on you must consider what your husband’s opinions are.  Yours do not matter so much anymore” (page 145).  Later, when she was in the hospital after having Yiku and Wan Fu was acting terribly, she said, “But that was how I was raised – never criticize men to the society they ruled” (page 257).

4.       Discuss the concept of taonan, “It means terrible danger is coming, not just to you but to many people, so everyone is watching out only for himself” (page 207).   When the Japanese planes dropped sheets of paper with propaganda about the good treatment the Chinese will receive from them, the narrator said that on that day the “fear sickness” spread and “everyone became a different person.  You don’t know such a person exists inside of you until you become taonan” (page 215).  Why did the people have this reaction?

5.       In 1941 Winnie remembered a common saying in China, “If you can’t change your fate, change your attitude” (page 284).  She did this in regards to her marriage.  At the same Hulan began to eat more and gain weight.  Winnie thought, “when she looked at the misery in other people, she saw what she once was – and what she still might be” (page 285).  How did the characters in the novel change their attitude throughout the story?  Is this good advice?

6.       After the war when Winnie and her family returned to her father’s home, she discovered her father’s businesses ruined and her father ill.  Do you think he cooperated with the Japanese or did they take advantage of him because he was ill?   On page 326 the author wrote “he had already had a stroke when the Japanese took over his businesses.”  Were the events his fault?

7.       Superstitions played a big part in the Chinese culture. For example, when Winnie dropped a pair of scissors and they landed point down, she blamed that bad fortune on the death of her baby.  Later at the market, she knocked over a table full of scissors and that was immediately followed by Wan Fu’s accident.  Do you recall any other examples from the novel?

8.       The characters kept many secrets in the novel.  How would the story have changed if they had been told?

a.       Pearl did not tell her mother she had MS.

b.       Winnie did not tell Pearl that her father was Wen Fu.

c.       Winnie and Helen were not really sisters-in-law (page 72).

d.       Winnie’s father knew negative things about the Wen family but let Winnie marry Wen Fu anyhow.

9.       Did you like the author’s use of foreshadowing?  For example:

a.       Page 188 “I will tell you about that later.”

b.       Page 219 “Any now I will tell you how we escaped with our lives and didn’t even know it.”

c.       Page 391 “Can you blame me for what happened after that?”

10.   The book was first published in 1991 and my book is the 22^nd printing.  Why has it remained popular for so long?

The Deep End of the Ocean, Jacqueline Mitchard

 

Characters
Family	Others
Beth Cappadora – photographer Pat – co-owner Wedding in the Old Neighborhood Vincent “Reese” Ben Kerry   Jill – Pat’s cousin who lives with family and helps with children   Beth’s family: Bill – father Evelyn – mother, deceased Ben “Bick” – brother Paul – older brother   Pat’s family: Angelo and Rose – parents Teresa – sister, husband Joey	Ellen – Beth’s best friend from high school   Laurie – Beth’s best friend after college   Nick – Beth’s high school boyfriend, wife Trish   Candy Bliss – Detective Supervisor   Jimmy Daugherty – high school classmate, detective   Loretta Quaid “Crazy Lady” – helped people find lost things – “saw” Ben in a wooden box   Compassionate Circle – support group for parents who have lost children   Dr. Tom Kilbore – Vincent’s psychologist   Cecilia Lockhart   George Karras   Teeter – school basketball coach

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       How well did the author depict Beth and Pat’s feelings?   Consider Beth, not really caring about her other children, and Pat eventually wanting to move on.  Were you able understand how each felt and why they felt that way?   Do you think their feelings were realistic?

2.       Did you think the behavior of the press was intrusive or necessary?  Why?

3.       When Beth and Pat took lie detector tests, each result indicated deception when asked if they were responsible for Ben’s disappearance.  Why?

4.       Discuss Vincent and how he grew up. 

a.       Would it have been possible for both Beth and Pat to behaved differently toward him?

b.       He felt Beth hated him.  He told Dr. Kilbore, “my mom has spoken to me like ten times in nine years...my mom sort of generally hates my guts” (page 391).

c.       In four years, Beth had only checked in with Dr. Kilgore about him once or twice.

d.       At the family counseling session, the family completely ignored Vincent and focused on Ben.

e.       He picked fights in school.

f.        Why was everyone so upset when, as a young child, he asked Santa to bring Ben back for Christmas.

5.       Discuss the different reactions of the family members six months after Ben’s disappearance.  Could you understand each different point of view?

a.       In December of the first year the family was divided about how to celebrate Christmas.  Pat’s parents bought Ben gifts and continued to hope while Beth wanted to give up and cancel the whole holiday. 

b.       Pat’s sister criticized Beth and said “Life goes on” (page 142) and complained that Beth would not respond to any of their overtures.

c.       Teresa said to Beth, “You don’t own every choice about Ben.  He was ours, too” (page 142).

6.       Vincent’s friends at school teased him about his name (Vincent Paul like St. Vincent de Paul) and gave him the nickname Reese after “re-sale.”  Why do you think he started to go by Reese all the time, even with his family?

7.       Vincent started to see Dr. Kilgore in 1991, six years after Ben disappeared.  Why did they wait so long?

8.       Once you knew the whole story, why did Cecilia leave the second shoe at the next high school reunion five years later?

9.       In November 1991, Vincent told Dr. Kilgore about a dream he had of a woman following Ben out the door of the hotel and holding the door open for him.  Then Vincent told him, “I think it’s part of the dream because it really happened” (page 235).  If he had remembered this and/or told it to someone earlier, would it have made a difference?

10.   At the very end of the novel, Vincent told Dr. Kilgore that he was responsible because, in the hotel lobby, he had told Ben to “Get lost” (page 395).  Even though Vincent was just a child himself, did you understand why he felt responsible?  Should he have felt responsible?  

11.   In October 1987, Pat told Beth he and others blamed her for what happened to Ben.  He said, “Don’t you think everyone thinks that if you just had a minute to take care of your kids, none of this would ever have happened…[kids] don’t get lost.  People lose them” (page 162).  Was this fair?

12.   Vincent overheard the above conversation.   He then ran directly to Kerry’s room and tried to smother her (pages 162-3).   Why did he do this?

13.   What did you think about the basketball coach, Teeter, and his interaction with Vincent?  Was that a responsible way for an adult to behave?  Why did he act that way?

14.   Were you surprised to read on page 291 that Vincent had been sleeping with Ben’s stuffed bunny under his sheet?  Did that change your idea of Vincent?

15.   Did you think the arrangement between George and Beth and Pat was the best thing for Ben/Sam?  How do you think things will work out as the years progress?  Will Vincent and Sam become close?

16.   Discuss your reading experience.  Did you enjoy the book or did the subject matter make you uncomfortable?  Did you peek at the end to see if everything turned out all right?

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

 

Characters
Bank Robber and Hostages	Others
Bank Robber   Zara – bank manager, received letter from man who jumped from bridge 10 years ago   Roger Anna-Lena   Julia - pregnant Ro   Estelle – owner of apartment Knut – husband, deceased   Lennart – professional disrupter   Real Estate Agent	Bank Robber: Two daughters Ex-husband   Nadia – psychologist, saved from suicide by Jim, followed for 10 years by Zara   Jim – father, police officer Jack – son, police officer Mother – deceased, priest Sister – addict   London – bank teller at cashless bank being robbed   Man who jumped from bridge, wrote letter to Zara who turned down his loan   Stockholmers

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       The author goes out of his way to not identify the bank robber as male or female.  (See the description of the marriage break up on pages 55 and 56.)  Were you surprised when the bank robber turned out to be a woman?   Did you catch it when you read the pronoun “she” on page 204?  Why did the author add this twist?  Would it have made a difference to the plot of the story if the bank robber was male?

2.       Discuss Zara and her problems.   Should someone have been able to help her earlier or was she too clever to let anyone know what was really going on with her?  Should she have felt guilty for the man’s suicide?

3.       What difference would it have made in the story if Zara had opened the letter ten years earlier

4.       As you read, did your feelings change about Roger?  The author wrote that he was “…incredibly angry.  A man can end up like that as a result of the things old age takes away from him, like the ability to serve a purpose” (page 166).  But on page 173 Roger waited 20 minutes to give his parking space to a young father and on page 167 “he said three of the hardest words an older man can say to a younger woman. ‘You’ll manage it.’”

5.       Discuss Julia and Ro.  Could you relate to Ro’s concern about being a parent?

6.       Were you surprised that Jim helped the bank robber?

 

7.       The novel was first published in Sweden and there were multiple references to Stockholmers.  Do you think people from different countries read these parts the same?

a.       “a symbolic word to denote all the irritating people who get in the way of our happiness” (page 156)

b.       “Everyone is someone else’s Stockholmer, I guess” (page 229)

c.       “’Stockholm’ can also be a syndrome, of course” (page 157)

8.       The other term the author used often to describe people was “idiots.”     The author wrote, “People want to be good. Deep down. Kind. The problem of course is that it isn’t always possible to be kind to idiots, because they’re idiots” (page 101).   How do you think the author would define an idiot?  What did you think about this term as you were reading?

9.       Suicide (man on bridge and Nadia) and addiction (bank robber’s mother and Jack’s sister) played prominent roles in the novel.  How well did the author address these issues?  Regarding teenagers, how accurate do you think his description was of Nadia’s feelings on pages 98 and 99?

10.   Besides telling a story, the author addressed many current issues and dilemmas.  What did you think of the following?

a.       On page 52 he listed things we all understand we should never do (kill, lie, steal, throw stones at birds) and then gave exceptions (killing Hitler, lying about eating children’s candy, throwing stones at swans).

b.       “always be nice to other people, even idiots, because you never know how heavy their burden is” (page 101).

c.       “People want to be good…The problem of course is that it isn’t always possible to kind to idiots, because they’re idiots” (page 101).

d.       Having money enables you to buy distance from other people – first class plane seats, more space between tables at fancy restaurants, larger houses with large yards.

11.   What did you think as you read the first page?   Do you think you read it differently now (in midst of the COVID pandemic) than you would at a different time?

12.   Why do you think the author never gave the elk, the frog and the monkey names other than their nicknames?

13.   Did you like the author’s style?  For example, he often wrote directly to the reader such as in chapter two, page 4.

14.   What were some of your favorite parts of the book?

15.   What do you think you will remember about this book after some time has passed?

16.   Why did the author write this book?   If he was trying to make a statement, was he successful?

Nine Perfect Strangers, by Liane Moriarty

Spoiler Alert!  Don’t read this character list if you have not read the novel.  Part of the enjoyment of the novel was the author’s plot line that slowly revealed each character’s background story.
Guests	Staff
Frances Welty – author, last book rejected Paul Drabble – “boyfriend”, scam   Lars Lee – family lawyer, health retreat junki Ray – boyfriend   Ben and Jessica Chandler – lottery winners Lucy – Ben’s sister, drug overdose   Napoleon (teacher), Heather (midwife), and Zoe Marconi Zach – Zoe’s twin, suicide   Tony Hogburn “Smiley” – former football player   Carmel Schneider Four daughters Joel – ex-husband, Sonia - girlfriend	Maria Dmitrichenko “Masha” – Director   Yao   Delilah   Jan – masseuse, husband Gus (policeman)

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback copy.

1.       Were there some characters you connected with more than others?  Which one would you like to be friends with in real life? 

2.       When Frances was anticipating her counseling session with Masha, she reflected that she had never been to counseling because “she had friends for that.  They all counseled each other and it was generally a two-way process” (page 182).  But then upon further reflection she thought, “Other people’s problems were so simple, one’s own problems tended to be so much more nuanced” (page 183).  Why do you think we can easily see solutions to other’s problems but not our own?

3.       The author addressed many social issues in the novel.  Were there too many?  Did she do a good job realistically addressing these?  Did you gain any new insights?

a.       Body image (Jessica, Frances, Carmel, Tony)

b.       Plastic surgery – Jessica thought she was beautiful but Ben thought she was disfigured

c.       Loss of a child (Marconi family, Masha)

d.       Divorce (Carmel, Tony)

e.       Sudden wealth (Jessica and Ben)

f.        Suicide (Zach)

g.       Drugs (Lucy)

4.       Through Frances the author addressed issues faced by middle aged women in particular.   For example, when they were younger her friends envied her life style, but as they got older, they seemed to pity her because she was single and had no children.  What other aspects of a middle-aged woman’s life did the author accurately depict?

5.       Were you surprised that Frances fell for the romance scam with Paul Drabble?  Why was she susceptible to this scam?  Did you think she would be more sophisticated and understand what was happening?

6.       Discuss Yao.  Why did he go to work with Masha? 

7.       What do you think Masha’s goal was when she had the guests each defend one of the others to her?

8.       How do you think you would have handled the four days of “noble silence?” 

9.       Each guest received a daily schedule they were to follow.  Do you think you would like not having to think about what you were going to do all day?

10.   Were you surprised to discover that the guests had all been given low levels of drugs?

11.   Lars pointed out the inscription on the wall of the room made by the two convicts and said, “The lowest point in your life can lead to the highest” (page 387).  Did we see this in the various characters?  Was it just the opposite with Jessica and Ben – the highest point in their lives led to the lowest?

12.   Three months after the retreat, Heather wanted Napoleon to be angry with her because she did not read the insert with Zach’s medicine.  After he did so, they listed each thing they felt guilty about that they did or did not do.  Do you think this will help each person to move forward?

13.   Did you like the way the author slowly revealed everyone’s story or would you have preferred to know each backstory sooner? 

14.   Did you like how the author ended the novel – telling what happened in the aftermath to each of the characters?

Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro

NOTE: At our discussion, one member who has an Alexa told us her mother (95 years old) said to Alexa, "Alexa, you are a good girl." Alexa replied, "I am a good AI."

Characters

Klara Rosa Manager   Chrissie Arthur – mother Josie Sal – deceased daughter Paul – father Melanie Housekeeper   Rick – Josie’s best friend Miss Helen – mother   Vance – Atlas Brookings   Mr. Henry Calpaldi – artist, making “portrait” of Josie   The Sun   Cootings Machine – pollution

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       What did you think about the “Interaction Meeting” on page 85?  Did you think Klara seemed better adjusted than the teens?  What about the threat of violence toward Klara?

2.       When Klara looked at things, why was everything always divided up into boxes? When Klara was watching the Interaction Meeting, “the room’s space was divided into twenty-four boxes – arranged in two tiers” (page 77).  Later, when she looked at the Mother, “the whole section of the room had become partitioned, her narrow eyes repeated in box after box” (page 186).

3.       What did you think happened to Sal?  When she died Chrissie and Paul had a bereavement doll made, not a replacement like they are doing for Josie.  

4.       Mr. Calpaldi is asking Klara to “become” Josie (page 207) if something happens to her.  He believes that “science has now proved beyond doubt there nothing unique” about Josie (page 221).  How could people start to believe that?

5.       Why do you think Chrissie visits Miss Helen?  What would they have in common?

6.       Did you think the AFs had feelings?  When Josie was meeting with the others, Klara “feared the interaction meeting might place shadows over our friendship” (page 84).  Also, how do you explain Klara willingness to harm herself to ruin a Cootings Machine in hopes of the Sun curing Josie?

7.       What trade-offs did the parents have to make to have their child be “lifted?”  Chrissie told Klara she wanted Josie to “have a good life.”  She said, “I called it, and now Josie’s sick.  Because of what I decided” (page 211). 

8.       Did having Klara as the narrator and seeing things through her eyes give you any new perspectives?   She referred to things common in our world by different names, for example: high-rank clothes, staring at oblong, the quick coffee, oblong tutors.   Again, did this make you see things differently than we currently do?

9.       Mr. Calpaldi is making a “portrait” of Josie that he wants Klara to inhabit if something happens to Josie.  Can you imagine that working for Chrissie?

10.   How did the Sun heal Josie?  What was the “special nourishment” (page 285)?

11.   It wasn’t until the end of the book that we read the words “genetic editing” (page 243).  Did you suspect that was what was happening?

12.   When everyone was in the city and they were going to the theater, a woman came up to them and asked if “the machine” was going into the theater.  She later said, “First they take the jobs.  Then they take the seats at the theater” (page 238).  Do you think this is a natural reaction to having AFs among us?

13.   At the end of the novel, Mr. Calpaldi said there was “growing and widespread concern about AFs” (page 293).  He wanted to “open” Klara and see how she was made.   The Mother said, no, that Klara deserved her “slow fade” (page 294).  Who do you think was right?

14.   At the end of the novel, when Klara was at the place for old AFs, Manager came to visit.  Klara told her about Mr. Calpaldi not thinking there was anything special in people, but Klara said, “There was something very special, but it wasn’t inside Josie.  It was inside those who loved her” (page 302).  How could she have this insight?  Do you think this was one message the author wanted to convey?

15.   On the last page, why did Manager walk with a limp, similar to Josie’s?

16.   Discuss your reading experience.  Did you emphasize with Klara and start to think of her as a person? 

17.   Do you think a teenager  or young adult would relate differently to this book than a senior citizen?

18.   This book was #10 on Amazon’s top 20 books of 2021 and included in The New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of the Year.  Why did it receive such recognition?

Petey, by Ben Mikaelsen

 

Characters
Warm Springs Insane Asylum - 1922 Warm Springs, Montana	Bozeman Nursing Home - 1977 Bozeman, Montana
Petey Corbin – 2 years old when given up by parents, cerebral palsy   Calvin Anders – “Ike”   Esteban – started working in 1927, one of first to recognize Petey’s intelligence   Patches, Sally, William, Cloud, Blackie - mice   Joe – attendant – left in 1937 – former railroad worker   Cassie Graber – nurse Alex – husband serving in the military Lisa – daughter 1945 – Cassie left to join Alex   Owen Marsh – attendant, 1965 - 1973 - retired rancher	Petey – 55 when moved here   Trevor Ladd – 1990 Parents   Kenny, String, Bud – bullies   Shawna – student, became friends with Trevor and Petey   Sissy Michael -nurse   Calvin Anders Boyd Hanson – Calvin’s volunteer advocate   Mr. Hendrick – administrator at home   Owen Marsh

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2010 edition of the paperback book.

1.       Cassie noticed that Calvin was in better spirits when with Petey.  She said to Petey, “What Calvin needs in life is purpose.  All people need purpose. Would you let Calvin be responsible for taking care of you?” (page 99).  This greatly helped Calvin, but what about Petey?  Was it fair for her to help Calvin, but not think about Petey?

2.       How did you like the part of the story when Petey fed the mice and they became his pets?

3.       When Petey had the flu and pneumonia, Joe said to the doctor “This child is no idiot” but the doctor disagreed (page 74).   In 1965, Owen Marsh thought the same thing about Petey (page 118).  Why could the people who cared for Petey know he was normal mentally, but the medical doctors could not?

4.       When Owen got to know Petey in 1965-1973, he thought Petey “loved life more than any human Owen had ever met” (page 135).   How is that possible?

5.       Likewise, many years later Sissy Michael told Trevor that “Petey has a capacity for happiness that nobody completely understands” (page 155).  What do you think his secret was?

6.       How was Petey able to be so insightful?  For example, he knew something was troubling Trevor and also that Trevor had been watching him.

7.       Trevor was only a teenager. How was he able to relate to well with Petey?

8.       When Trevor took Petey to the movies and people stared, Trevor eventually realized that “Maybe people aren’t really mean – it’s just that they don’t understand” (page 227).  Do you think this is an accurate statement?

9.       This book was first published in 1998.  On page 42 the author used the word “retarded” to describe Calvin.  This word currently is not used.  What might be an alternative that better describes Calvin?

10.   This book is written for 8–12-year-olds.  How do you think they would understand and feel about this book?

11.   Given the time when this story place, could anything different have happened to Petey?

12.   Were you glad you read this book?  What was your favorite part?