The Names, by Florence Knapp

 

Recurring Characters
Atkin family: Dr. Gordon Cora Maia “Bees” Bear/Julian/Gordon – 9 years younger than Maia		Silbhe – Cora’s mother, husband deceased Cain – boyfriend later in life   Mehri – Cora’s friend Fern -daughter
Timeline and Occurrences
Bear – born 1987	Julian – born 1987		Gordon – born 1987
Gordon arrested for murder: Pushed Vilaan through door
Bear – 1994	Julian – 1994		Gordon – 1994
	Cora killed by Gordon Children in Ireland living with Silbhe		Father asks him to “tell” on Cora
Bear – 2001	Julian – 2001		Gordon – 2001
Met Lily Atkins in school Maia with Charlotte	Cain – Silbhe’s boyfriend Julian learns silversmithing from him Maia told Cain family history		Maia – doctor of homeopathy Cora and Gordon to medical conference
Bear – 2008	Julian – 2008		Gordon – 2008
To Jordon on archeological dig	Making and selling jewelry Meets Orla Maia – to medical school		Works with computers and numbers – in banking – job not respected by father or grandfather   Silbhe died – Gordon did not tell Cora – hid inheritance from her
Bear – 2015	Julian – 2015		Gordon - 2015
Lily shot in nightclub, was supposed to go with Bear	With Orla - pregnant Maia – comes out as gay		Lost everything due to drinking   Regretted treatment of Lily in high school – she became Human Rights lawyer   Cora left Gordon four times
Bear – 2022	Julian – 2022		Gordon – 2022
Bear and Lily married Pearl -daughter Bear stung in attic and died   Gordon married with new family	Two daughters with Orla   Maia told Julian family history   Maia with Meg		Filmed father abusing Cora Working in art museum   With Comfort – met in 2019 Ida - daughter

 

1.      Besides the names, what other factors influenced the different scenarios in the three stories?

2.      How did each of the names influence the person the character became?

3.      Discuss the other characters in the stories.  How were they influenced by Gordon’s abuse? 

4.      Why did Gordon go along with his father as a youngster while Maia saw what was happening?  Was it because of the age difference or were there other factors?

5.      Discuss Gordon’s (the father) relationship with his own father (the grandfather).  How did that shape his life?  Why do you think he was unable to treat his own son any differently?

6.      Do you think Cora’s friend, Mehi, suspected what was going on?  Was there anything she could do if she did?

7.      Do you think Cora’s story is typical of an abused spouse?  Is there any typical story?  What did you think about the statistic Maia said, that the average number of times a wife leaves is seven before she is able to fully escape?

8.      Discuss your reading experience.  Did you read straight through, or did you follow each individual story?

9.      Did you like the Epilogue ?

10.  Does your family have any names handed down through the generations?  Do you think that generally this would be an honor?

11.  Does your name have any particular meaning that you know of?

Did your name influence your personality? Do you know anyone whose name did influence who they became?

By Any Other Name, by Jodi Picoult

 

Melina Green 2014 -  2027	Emilia Bassano 1581 - 1695
Professor Buford   Andre – best friend Letita – mother Darnell – father   Felix Dubonnet – artistic director, Village Fringe   Jasper Tolle – columnist, judged Melina’s play in college   Play “By Any Other Name” about ancestor, Emilia Bassano Producer – Jasper Tolle Assistant – Tyce D’Ono Director – Raffe Langudoc   Matthew  “Matty” - father  Beth - friend	Susan Bertie – Countess of Kent, Emilia’s guardian   Jeronimo – cousin in London, Jewish Alma – wife Edward – son   Baron Willoughby – Susan’s brother Isabella – Baron’s courtesan, Emilia sold to her in exchange for family help   Lord Henry Hunsdon – Emilia sold to him Edited plays for Queen Anne - wife Mary – head housemaid Bess – Emilia’s maid   Alphonso Lanier – Hunsdon paid him to marry Emilia, abusive Henry – son, not by Alphonso Odylllia – daughter, died at 10 months Bess – maid   Mary and Harry – Henry and Joyce’s children, raised by Emilia   Henry, Earl of Southampton – affair, Henry’s father   Christopher Marlowe “Kit” – became friends with Emilia (real)
	Other real characters
	Ben Jonson – playwright, in 1695 editing a folio of Shakespeare’s plays after his death “Arden of Faversham” – play, author unknown, possibly Marlowe, Shakespeare, or Thomas Kyd

 

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2025 paperback edition.

1.      The author drew parallels between Melina and Emilia’s artistic lives.  Did you see the parallels?  Did the author do this effectively for you?

2.      Did you like one woman’s part of the story better than the other?  Why?

3.      On page 214 Jasper said he had a photographic memory.  If this is true, why did he not remember Melina from ten years earlier?

4.      What did you think about Emilia continuing to practice Judaism? Did that add to the story?

5.      Did you read anything that struck you as a message the author wanted to share?  If so, what was it?  Was she successful?

6.      Did the inclusion of real English poets and playwrights from that time, such as Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, add to your reading?

7.      Did you like how the play was interspersed between the chapters?

8.      When Emilia was watching the audience’s reaction to a play, she thought, “A playwright had taken a fresh, blank sheet of paper and from it, had made three thousand strangers feel” (page 95).  Have you ever read anything from any source that really resonated with you?

9.      Do you think there is the type of prejudice against female playwrights that the author described?

10. Emilia “believed words written by a woman about women might allow audiences to see them more fully, to realize that they had thoughts and dreams and worth” (page 198).  Do you agree?  Can women write from a male perspective, and can a man write from a woman’s perspective?

11. On page 219 Melina listed female authors who published as male – the Brontes, George Eliot, George Sand and J. K. Rowling, also as Robert Galbraith.  What did you think about this, particularly Rowling doing so very recently?

12. If you are familiar with Shakespeare’s work, did that enhance your reading?  Is that knowledge necessary to appreciate the book?

13. How satisfying did you find the ending?

14. Discuss your reading experience.  Did you like how the story switched between the two stories?

Booth, by Karen Joy Fowler

 

People/Characters
Booth Family	Others
Junius Booth – father, Shakespearean actor Mother Rosalie – oldest daughter June – oldest child Edwin Asia Frederick – first to die, in Boston Henry – died in England Mary Ann – died Elizabeth – died John Wilkes – born 1838 Joe – born 1840, last child	“Aunty” – Mrs. Elijah Rogers, neighbor Husband – owned Hall family   Joe Hall – farm manager Ann – wife, he eventually bought her freedom Asia and Susanna – born free Joseph – bought freedom Lucinda, Mary Ellen, Pinkney – owned by Elijah Rogers Nancy – owned by Elizabeth Preston   Adelaide Booth – Junius’ legal wife in England Richard Booth – son

 

NOTE: The page numbers are from the 2022 paperback edition.

1.      Discuss the various people in the novel.  For example, what did you think about Rosalie?  On page 386 the author wrote, “Once again, Rosalie is being cast upon the winds.  Just shy of forty years old and she still has no say in where or how she lives.”  Given her physical limitations, did she have any alternative?  How much were the other women in charge of their lives?

2.      Did you have to keep reminding yourself that this was a true story, presented as historical fiction?

3.      Did you think the African Americans were portrayed accurately given the time period in history? 

4.      Did you like all of the quotes from Shakespeare?  Did they add to your enjoyment of the book and the characters?

5.      How responsible was the family for what John finally did?  Could they have known and stopped him?

6.      What did you think when you finally got to Book Six where we finally get to the assassination and the aftermath?  Did that change your thinking about the bulk of the book leading up to that?

7.      At the beginning of chapter viii in Book Six, the author wrote, “What is it like to love the most hated man in the country?” (page 457).  Family members reacted differently: Edwin forbid his name to be said in his presence, Rosalie and Asia still loved him.  Given how famous the family name was, what do you think it was like for the remaining family members?

8.      Did you like the organization with the excerpts about Abraham Lincoln throughout the novel? 

9.      How did knowing the history of Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth affect your reading?

The River is Waiting, by Wally Lamb

 

Characters
Corbin Ledbetter “Corby” – artist Emily – teacher Maisie Niko   Betsy – Emily’s mom Pat – dad Ana – girlfriend   Vicki - Corby’s mother, smokes marijuana Dad – abusive, college professor   Dr. Beena Patel – grief counselor   Detective Sykes   Bryan – Emily’s future husband	Yates Correctional Institute
	Lieutenant Cavagnero -guard, initial supervisor of grounds’ crew   Albert Liggett “Pug” – first cellmate Manny – second cellmate Wes and Gunner – inmates Jheri Curl – inmate Captain Delia Graham – control desk   Solomon Clapp – Corby asked to look out for him by Cavagnero   Library: Fagie Millman – librarian Javier   Guards on grounds’ crew: Piccardy, Anselmo, Goolsby – guards Piccardy took pleasure in abusing Corby   AA Meeting in prison Javier – leader Jheri Curl – in choir Father Andy - inmate

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2025 hardback edition.

1.      Emily blames Corby because of the choice he made to drink, take the Ativan, and drive.  Did you think what happened was more or partly an accident?

2.      How do you think Corby would react if the roles were reversed?

3.      When driving home from their first appointment with Dr. Patel, Emily becomes upset, speeds, and swerves into the approaching lane.  How different is this from what Corby did?

4.      What acts of kindness did you find in the book?  For example, when Corby was placed in the psych ward O’Brien spoke kindly to him and said to “Get some sleep” (page 161) and Lieutenant Cavagnero returned to his cell and told him “Keep the faith” (page 157).

5.      It was mentioned several times that Corby’s father may have been abusive.  For example, he had “disturbing dreams: my father screaming at my mother and me as we cower together on the kitchen floor” (page 151) and on page 188 he remembered his father berating him for bringing him the wrong type of screwdriver.  When he was in college his counselor asked, “Have you ever considered that you might have been the victim of verbal abuse?” (page 29).  Do you think that may have played a part in his anxiety, addiction, and accident?

6.      When Corby was up for early release, did you understand why Emily said he could not come home?

7.      Did you like the ending: Corby died from COVID, Emily about to marry Bryan, Emily and Maise going to see Corby’s mural?

8.      Why was there a brief chapter about Dr. Patel at the very end?

9.      Now that you have finished the book, what characters do you remember and were the most interesting and/or memorable for you?

10.  In an interview with Oprah, Wally Lamb said that he starts with a character and with no outline or ending and never knows how the story will unfold.  Do you think he was surprised about where this story took him?

11.  In the interview, Lamb said that initially the novel alternated between chapters from Emily’s and from Corby’s point of view, but his editor suggested that it only be from Corby’s.  Do you think that was a good idea?  Would he have been about to do justice to both sides if he had stayed with his initial plan?

12.  Wally Lamb taught a writing class in a women’s prison as a volunteer for 20 years.  Also, his youngest, adopted, son has gone to prison.  How do you think those experiences may have influenced this book?

13.  In the acknowledgements, the author does not mention any research he did on the topics in the book, for example panic attacks, breathing exercises (pages 118-119) or grounding techniques (page 119).  Do you think he should have or can he just assume the reader will not take anything as fact?

14.  Did your opinion change about Corby as you read his story?

15.  Why do you think Oprah selected this book?

The Briar Club, by Kate Quinn

 

Characters
Briarwood House   Mrs. Nilsson “Doilies” – landlady Pete – son, forced to leave school and work Lina – daughter, mother would not fix lazy eye Mr. Nilsson – kept away by wife   Felicity Orton “Fliss” – 2A Angela – daughter Dan – husband, doctor in Japan Helped Sydney Sutherland get birth control   Reka Muller – 2B – German immigrant Art professor in Germany Otto – husband, deceased Three valuable Klimt sketches stolen from her family during war   Bea Verretti - 3A Phys teacher and sub in Home Economics All-American Girls Professional Baseball League – Fort Wayne Daises “The Swinging Sicilian” Seeing Harlan Adams Became scout for Washington Senators   Claire Hallett – 3B Three jobs: Junior assistant to Margaret Chase Smith, errands for Sydney Sutherland, porn model Stealing from housemates   Arlene Hupp – 3C Typist – worked for government	Nora Walsh – 4A Works at National Archives and Crispy Bacon Timothy – brother, policeman, stole her money Siobhan and Timmy Jr. – family Xavier Byrne – gangster, boyfriend Duke – dog     Grace Marsh – 4B Formally Comrade Galina Stepanova – USSR Sent to America as a spy with Kirill Lensky/Bob McDowell Defected Hosted Thursday dinners
	Joe Reiss – neighbor, musician Claude Cormier -drummer, Joe’s band mate, flew with Tuskegee Airmen   Senator Sutherland Barrett – son Had three stolen Klimt sketches Sydney – wife, beaten by Barrett Bear – son   Harlan Adams – worked for FBI, initially dated Arlene but then Bea   Dr. John Rock – Dan Orton’s uncle Pioneer in birth control pill

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2025 paperback edition.

1.      Discuss your reading experience.  If you read the author’s note before you finished the book, did you obey the first paragraph telling you not to do so?

2.      Did you like the house as a character?

3.      Discuss the other characters.  What was interesting about them?  Were there any you could connect with?

4.      Did you like the fact that there were so many unanswered questions as you were reading such as who the murder victims were and who Kitty was that Grace was writing postcards to?

5.      As you were reading, who did you think were the murder victims?

6.      Were you surprised when you discovered that Claire and Sydney Sutherland were having an affair?

7.      Looking back, what scenes do you remember?  One of my favorites was when Pete was asking about the birth control and Fliss told him that in a few years he would be very happy to know about it (page 410).  Also, I liked how Bea’s housemates all came and taught her Home Economics classes.

8.      There was a lot going on in this book. Did you have any trouble keeping everything straight?

9.      I thought a large part of this book was patriotism and appreciation for our country.  When Grace reflected on what she had been told about America she thought, “And once you went looking for the lies, you found them everywhere.  You looked around at a land you’d been told your entire life was filled with enemies and evil and found it instead to be a land of plenty and peace” (page 334).  Do you agree?

10.  There was quite a lot of actual events that happened in America in the book such as Joe McCarthy, JFK’s proposal to Jackie (page 263), and the nuclear bomb test in Nevada (page 187).  Did that add to your reading?

Did you try, or are you tempted, to make any of the recipes included in the book?