Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

Characters

Lance Nick Dunne – writer, owns bar with sister

Margo – twin sister
Father – Alzheimer’s – Comfort Hill Assisted Living
Maureen “Mo” – mother – Died of cancer

Amy Elliott Dunne - writes personality quizzes

Rand and Mary Beth Elliott – writers – lost seven babies before Amy
"Amazing Amy” series

Andie – Nick’s mistress

Tanner Bolt – lawyer

Betsy Bolt - wife

Ellen Abbott – TV host

Friends of Amy:

Hilary Handy – Amy accused her of stalking
Tommy O’Hara – Amy accused him of rape
Desi Collings – ex-boyfriend from high school, murdered
Jacqueline Collings – Desi’s mother
Noelle Hawthorne – neighbor, mother of triplets
Jeff and Greta – steal Amy’s money when in Ozarks

For discussion:

1.            What did Amy and Nick each expect from marriage?  Where they realistic?

·         Nick’s parents divorced and Amy’s apparently had a strong marriage.   Did this have any influence on their marriage?
·         At one book launch party Amy reflected, “People say children from broken homes have it hard, but the children of charmed marriages have their own particular challenges.”   What do you think?

2.            Who was the real Amy?

·         Discuss her relationships with her “friends.”

3.            Discuss Amy parents.

·         Whenever Amy did something, “Amazing Amy” did it better or correctly.    How did this influence Amy?
·         Did her parents influence the adult Amy would become?  How or how not?
·         Do you think that they exploited Amy?
·         Amy was the only surviving child after seven still births or miscarriages (all girls, all named Hope).  How did this    affect Amy and her parents?

4.            Discuss Nick and his behavior after Amy was missing.  Discuss his inappropriate smiling and reactions.  He blamed this on his father – do you agree?  Is there a correct way to act in this type of situation?

5.            Do you think Nick should have figured out Amy’s yearly anniversary treasure hunt clues?   What did the obscure clues and his non-understanding indicate about their personalities and marriage?

6.            Discuss the secondary characters.  Who was sympathetic and who was not?

7.            What do you think will happen to Amy and Nick’s child?  What will happen after the book ends?

8.            Why is this book such a phenomenal hit?  It is the book that every other suspense novel is compared to and books are referred to as “the next Gone Girl.”

9.            Did you like the writing style and the way the author organized the book?  Why or why not?

The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks

Carnton Plantation   Field hospital after Battle of Franklin	McGavock family: Carrie Colonel John Hattie Winder Deceased children – Martha, John Randall, Mary Elizabeth   Mariah – Creole Slave/Companion Theopolis - son
Sgt. Zachariah Cashwell	Confederate soldier from Arkansas – picked up colors in battle At Carnton after injured in Battle of Franklin   Jerod – friend
Lt. Nathan Stiles	Union soldier from Ohio Professor at Indian site
Griffin	Joseph – father Becky – daughter Eli – son, friend of Ab Wills and Winder
Baylor	Will “Cotton Gin” – Becky’s boyfriend

For discussion:

1.            In chapter 3, Cashwell explains why men were willing to fight.  He explained that they either forgot the possibility of death or convinced themselves that they “didn’t matter in this world.”    He explained that “I was insignificant like everyone else and it was this insignificance that made me strong.”   Does this help you understand how so many were willing to face probable death in the battles?

2.            How did Cashwell’s willingness to die make him stronger?  How did his childhood (father killed, mother abandoned him and ran away with preacher) affect him as an adult?

3.            Discuss Carrie McGavock. 

·         How did she cope with the deaths of her children? 
·         Why didn’t she take the laudanum like many of the other women?  
·         Why did she collect the laudanum she did not take and how did this help her?
·         In chapter 11, when she knew her house would be a field hospital, she stated that “I had power.  I had a power others did not.”  And, “Death could not make me afraid anymore.”

4.            Consider the relationship between Cashwell and Carrie. 

·         Why did she keep him at the plantation for so long? 
·         Why did she beat him with his crutch in chapter 25? 
·         What was their connection with each other?

5.            Cashwell also had a unique relationship with John McGavock.  In chapter 32 John told Cashwell his life story. 

·         What was it about Cashwell that made both Carrie and John confide in him?
·         When thinking about John, Cashwell thought that, “Something had happened to that poor son of a bitch.  Or he’d done something I didn’t want to hear about.”   What was it?

6.            Discuss Mariah. 

·         Why did she stay with Carrie after the other slaves were freed and left? 
·         She had a special connection with the most severely wounded soldiers – they realized they were going to be restricted for the rest of their lives by their injuries and felt a connection with Mariah.  Why?  (Chapter 34)

7.            Who was Theopolis’ father?

8.            What was Baylor’s real purpose in wanting to destroy the burial field and plant on it?

9.            Did the author do a good job combining the true story with some fictional details?  

10.          Did this novel give you any insights into the Civil War and/or A Team of Rivals by Doris Kerns Goodwin?