The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See

Characters
Kim Young-Sook Mother – chief of divers’ collective, died in accident Grandmother Father Siblings – younger sister and brothers Jan-bu – husband, studied in Japan, teacher Min-lee – daughter Sung-soo and Kyung-soo – sons Joon-lee – daughter born after Jan-bu killed Do-saeng – mother’s best friend, Jan-bu’s mother Yu-ri – daughter, injured by octopus during dive Baby divers: Gu-ja and Gu-sun Wan-soon (Gu-sun’s baby)	Mi-ja Aunt and uncle – raised her Sang-mun – husband, worked for Japanese Madame Lee – mother-in-law Yo-chan – son Joon-lee and Yo-chan married Ji-Young “Janet” – daughter Clara – granddaughter Shaman Kim Dr. Park - scientist
Historical Events and Organizations
August-September 1949 Country divided into Republic of Korea (south) and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (north) Northwest Young Men’s Association Bukchen Massacre Young-sook, Min-lee and Kyung-soo survived April 3rd (4.3) Incident – lasted 17 years 2008 – Jeju April 3 Peace Park
Vocabulary
Haenyeo – sea women Water breath – taken before diving Sumbisori – special sound made when breaks water surface and releases air Gal-ot – cloth dyed in unripe persimmon juice; doesn’t retain odor, water resistant, mosquito repellent

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition of the book.

1. Were you surprised to learn that the women dove through all stages of pregnancy and that it was a very pleasant experience?  If you are a female, would you consider doing that?  What do you think the current medical community would say?
2. What did you think about the complete role reversal in the haenyeo communities?  After her mother’s death, Young-sook thought, “No man was built to shoulder the full weight of feeding and caring for his family. That was why he had a wife and daughters” (page 71).
3. Who was at fault, if anyone, when the following accidents happened?
1. Yu-ri did not listen to mother and went back for the octopus.  Her mother had told Young-sook to stay with Yo-ri but had also called the divers back to the boat.  What should Young-sook have done?  Was it her fault Yu-ri was injured?
2. Young-sook felt guilty about her mother’s death.    Was this feeling justified?
4. When Do-saeng retired, she thought that Young-sook would replace her as head of the collective and thought it was pre-arranged.  However, Gu-ja was the only one nominated.  Why did no one nominate Young-sook after she had been groomed for the job?
5. When Dr. Park and the other scientists came to study the haenyeos, were you surprised that they were not more sensitive to the women’s culture and feelings? Why did the women so readily agree to be studied?
6. When Wan-soon drowned, it was Gu-ja’s responsibility because she was head of the collective and had made a poor choice of where to dive (page 298).  Young-sook though it partly was a result of Dr. Park’s study because “[h]is presence – and that of the other scientists – had rippled out, changing us and how we saw each other” (page 299).  What did she mean?
7. At the Bukchen Massacre, Young-sook asked Mi-ja to save one of her children but she would not.  Young-sook blamed her for what happened to her family (page 234) for the rest of her life.  Was this fair?  Should Young-sook have been more perceptive and understanding of the abusiveness in Mi-ja’s life?  Should she have forgiven as the years passed and Joon-lee married Yo-chan?
8. How did Young-sook’s inability to forgive influence the rest of her life?  Was it possible for her to forgive?   Did you think it was realistic that she would carry it so far that she would not go to Joon-lee’s wedding and did not read the letters from America to know that her daughter had died?   
9. Were you surprised that every girl Joon-lee’s age on the island had been given a copy of Heidi?  The girls read the book to their mothers and sisters and everyone talked about it. Why was that book chosen?  What did the girls and women take away from the book?
10. What did you think about the ending of the story at the opening of the Jeju April 3 Peace Park?  
11. When did you figure out that Clara was Joon-lee’s granddaughter?
12. What emotions did you experience while reading?  Did knowing that Young-sook was alive in 2008 influence how you felt?
13. Did you like the organization of the book – four days in 2008 interspersed throughout the story taking place from 1938 to 1975?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hardcopy from amazon.com and a hardcopy from wordassociation.com.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris

Characters/People
Prisoners and family	Guards and others
Lale Gloria Sokolov – sister, married to a Russian soldier Gita Furman Cilka, Dana and Ivana – friends Pepan – Tattooist Leon – Lale’s assistant after Pepan disappeared Girls who work in Canada House – smuggled out jewels and valuables to Lale Gypsies/ Romany Hilda Goldstein – Gita’s neighbor from home Sonderkommando – removed bodies from oven, received extra privileges Jakub – American prisoner, Block 11	Commandant Rudolf Hoess – Auschwitz Houstek Baretski – Lale’s guard Schwarzhuber – head of Birkenau, rapes Cilka Josef Mengele Kapo – boss of barracks Bella – at desk in administration office Victor and Yuri (son) – builders paid to work in camp Friedrich – guard at Russian camp, takes Lale into town to get girls for the evening

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. What were the personality characteristics that helped Lale survive in the camp?
2. Lale said he learned to flirt by trying to get what he wanted from his mother when he was younger.  His mother advised him to, “Be attentive, Lale; remember the small things, and the big things will work themselves out” (page 113).   Was this good advice in the concentration camp as well as with dating?
3. Lale feels that he, like the Sonderkommando, has “chosen to stay alive for as long as he can, by performing an act of defilement on people of his own faith” (page 139).  Can you understand their feelings?  Do you agree with them?
4. After learning about Cilka’s fate, Lale tells Gita that Cilka is a hero and that “[c]hoosing to live is an act of defiance, a form of heroism” (page 156).  Will Lale be judged also as a hero or a “perpetrator or collaborator” (page 157).
5. In the “Additional Information” section at the end of the book it said that Cilka was “charged as a Nazi conspirator and sentenced to hard labor” (page 10).  Why was she judged differently than Lale and Sonderkommando?
6. Victor and his son, Yuri, smuggled food in to Lale to share with the others.  At the beginning Victor said they would do it because, “if we can help just one of you, we’ll do it. Right, Yuri?” and Lale responded, “Save the one, save the world” (page 72).  How did we see this philosophy play out through the novel?
7. Were you surprised to read how Jakub did his job but still protected Lale?  Jakub told Lale, “I will kill you before I let you give me any names.” and “If I must kill one Jew to save ten others, then I will” (page 172).  What were the various ways people looked out for each other in the book?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hardcopy from amazon.com and a hardcopy from wordassociation.com. 

Carnegie's Maid, by Marie Benedict

Real people and events

Fictional

Andrew Carnegie Margaret Carnegie – mother Tom – younger brother Father - deceased Family came to Pittsburgh when Andrew was 12, impoverished Andrew started as telegrapher and invested in businesses Document written on 12-23-1868 by Andrew regarding life’s path Andrew was drafted to fight in Civil War but paid for replacement Col. James Anderson – opened personal library to young men on Saturday evenings Edgar Thompson Mrs.  Pitcarin Harry Phipps John Vandevort Tom Miller - Cyclops Iron Co Iron City Forge – Tom Carnegie William Coleman – iron manufacturing Lucy – daughter, married Tom

Galway: Clara Kelly Father and Mother Eliza – older sister Cecelia – younger sister Mrs. Seeley Mr. Ford – cook, former slave Ruth wife; Mabel, daughter Mr. Holyrod – Butler Mrs. Stewart – housekeeper Hilda – maid Clara’s relatives in Slab Town: Patrick Lamb Maeve Children Miss Atkinson Miss Carlyle – nurse to Mrs. Carnegie in New York

FoDiscussion

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. What did you think about Mrs. Carnegie and her insecurities?   Also discuss her treatment of Clara, demeaning her in public but asking for her opinion in private.
2. At one point Andrew and Clara were in the Fairfield parlor and Andrew said the parlor was “actually meant to be read like a book, with each object functioning like a word in a story” (page 142).  Clara realized that “[t]he ‘book’ about Fairfield was like the narrative of his life Mrs. Carnegie was crafting” (page 143).  He then proceeded to tell her what they hoped each guest would think about the Carnegie’s as they looked around the room.  How would someone “read” the rooms in your house?
3. Discuss what happened when Mrs. Carnegie and Andrew went to New York and were not welcomed into the society there.  Given that Clara knew more because of what she learned listening to the servants, do you think she should have given more advice regarding such things as sleeve length?
4. What did you think when Clara told Andrew that “New York society folk…invent ways to distinguish themselves from the rest of the citizenry” (page 227)?
5. When Clara challenged Andrew about his desire to be accepted by the New York society, he answered that his reason was because “It is a challenge” (page 229).  Do you believe this was his reason when in the past he proclaimed that he “loved the American ethos of equality and the ability to rise about your born station” (page 229)?   Was this desire to be accepted by the New York society out of character for him?
6. Was it fair of Andrew to want to continue to talk with Clara as an equal?
7. Clara’s father continued to support the Fenian movement at the risk of losing the family’s plot of land.   Was he justified in these actions and was Clara justified in being angry with him?
8. When Iron City merged with Cyclops to form Union Iron Company, Patrick Lamb and many others lost their jobs while Andrew benefited.  Was this Andrew’s responsibility or concern?
9. When Mr. Ford said goodbye to Clara, she said it was her fault she had to leave because she was “pretending to be someone I am not” (page 265).  Mr. Ford replied, “If that was a crime, we’d all be in jail, Miss Kelley.  We are all pretending in this life. One way of another” (page 265).  Do you think this is true?  Who was pretending to be something they were not in this novel?
10. What is the responsibility of the historical fiction writer to the reader and to the historical figures when building a story around real events and real people?  What, if any, is the responsibility of the reader?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and a hard copy from wordassociation.com.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford

Characters
1940s	1980s
Henry Lee Parents Ethel Chen – postal clerk Miss Beatty – cafeteria lady Keiko Okabe Parents Chaz Preston – bully Charles Preston – father, building developer Oscar Holden – jazz pianist Sheldon Thomas – sax player, street performer	Henry Lee Ethel Marty Samantha Sheldon Thomas Kay Hatsune – Keiko Palmyra Pettison – new owner of Panama Hotel

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.

1. Discuss Henry’s relationship with his parents:
1. Did not tell them about bullying at school
2. No common language – Henry forbidden to speak Chinese at home but parents could not understand English
3. Father disowning Henry because of Keiko

2. Discuss the relationship between Henry and Marty.  How was it affected by Henry’s upbringing?  Were you surprised that Marty approved of trying to find Keiko?

3. Discuss Henry’s father.  Henry’s mother told him that his father came to America as an orphan after experiencing Japan invading China and killing “many, many people.  Not soldiers but women and children, the old and the sick” (page 127).  Was it realistic to think his father would be able to feel differently toward Keiko?

4. At the end of his life, Henry’s father wanted to repair the relationship with his son.  Also, on his deathbed he “wanted to die with a clear conscience” (page 263) and confessed that he was responsible for the letters between Henry and Keiko never being delivered.   Was it possible for the breach between father and son to be repaired at this time and with the revelation of this information?  Should Henry have forgiven him?

5. Do you think Ethel played a part in the non-delivery of the letters?

 

6. On pages 114 and 115 when Henry and Keiko were in the record store to buy the Oscar Holden record, the owner said, “We don’t serve people like you – besides, my husband is off fighting.”   Keiko was surprised that grown-ups would act this way, but Henry knew, “from his own experience that sometimes grown-ups could be worse.  Much worse.”  Was it possible for the lady in the store to act any differently?

7. In 1942 when Henry was translating for Mr. Preston and his father about Mr. Preston’s interest in forcing the Nichibei publishing company out of business and buying the land, Henry purposefully mistranslated so that the sale did not happen.  Were you surprised that Henry would do that?

8. Discuss the different ways people in different cultures show affection.  On page 201 Henry states that affection in his family was shown with “usually a nod and occasionally a smile.  He just assumed all families were that way – all people too.” 

9. Discuss Samantha and her sudden dominance in the story.  Was this realistic?  Do you think she would have been accepted by Henry so readily in real life?

10. One of my favorite characters was Mrs. Beatty, the cafeteria lady.  When Keiko was sent away with her family, Mrs. Beatty served a Japanese recipe for lunch. Then she refused to serve Chaz who was taunting Henry.  She was described as having a “war face” when refusing Chaz (page 149) and an “intimidating mountain of a woman – and a person of few words” (page 150-1).  What did you think of her character?

11. In the tenth anniversary edition of the book, the author said that Sheldon and Mrs. Beatty were two of his favorite characters and that he had “written short stories starring each of them.  [He] just wasn’t ready to say goodbye” (page 326).  Did you like the characters?  Why?

12. Did you learn anything about the Japanese experience in America during the war?  Why do you think they were so cooperative when they had to leave everything behind?

13. Did you like the way the novel was written with the parallel stories?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.

The Woman in the Window, by A. J. Finn

Characters
Residents	Others
#213 – Dr. Anna Fox – child psychologist Ed – husband Olivia – daughter Punch - cat #207 – Alistair Russell Jane Russell - #1 and #2 Ethan - son #210 - Takedas Nick – son #212 - Dr. John Miller and wife #214 - Henry and Lisa Wasserman #216 - Gray family: father, mother (book club hostess), twin teenage daughters	Katie – Ethan’s biological mother David – tenant Bina – physical therapist Wesley Brill – former partner, affair Dr. Julien Fielding Detective Little Detective Norelli Agora website: Anna – thedoctorisin GrannyLizzie

r Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1. When the Anna, Ed and Olivia were leaving the resort, why do you think Ed told Anna to drive?
2. The author did not reveal that Ed and Olivia were dead until page 309.  Were you surprised?
3. How would you react is you saw someone spying on you like Jane Russell #1?
4. What did you think had happened when Anna’s password was changed and she received a picture of herself sleeping from guesswhoanna@gmail.com?
5. As you were reading, what did you think was happening at the Russell’s?
6. What did you think about Ethan as the story progressed?  When, if ever, did you become suspicious of him?
7. What were the clues that hinted at the solution?  Did you figure out the mystery before the author revealed the ending?  Were there any red herrings to throw the reader off?
8. Two questions I had while reading:
1. On page 359, Anna thought that she had only one ally.  Who was it?
2. On pages 391-392, Anna refers to a picture she was told she had drawn but had no memory of drawing. What was the picture?
9. How well do you think the author described agoraphobia?  Were you able to understand Anna?  What did you know previously about the condition?  Did you learn anything or gain new understanding?
10. Given Anna’s experiences, were you able to understand her descent into addiction and agoraphobia?  As a psychologist, should she have been able to help herself?
11. Was Dr. Fielding irresponsible?  He prescribed extremely powerful pills and did not check up very much to see she was following instructions.  He knew she was living alone.  Was there anything else he could have done besides committing her?
12. What do you think happened to Anna after the novel ended?
13. Of the movies listed, which have you seen?  What did all of the movie titles add to the story?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and a hard copy from wordassociation.com.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

Characters

Catherine Clark – Kya Julienne – mother Jackson “Jake” – father Jodie – brother, 7 years older than Kya (wife, Libby; children Murph and Mindy) Older siblings – Mandy, Missy, Murph (oldest) Tate Walker Scupper – dad Chase Andrews Patti Love and Sam – parents Pearl – wife Jumpin’ - Gas and Bait Mabel – wife Sheriff Ed Jackson Deputy Joe Perdue Tom Milton -lawyer Sundee Justice – courthouse cat Amanda Hamilton – poet Robert Foster – editor The Sea Shells of the Eastern Seaboard, by Catherine Clark The Eastern Seacoast Birds, by Catherine Clark, 1969

For Discussion

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition of the book.

1. How could Kya’s mother and older siblings abandon her?  On page 13 it says that they all left because of the father, but why didn’t anyone take Kya with them?
2. Were you more sympathetic towards her mother’s decision to leave her children once you knew her story (mentally and physically ill, asked to get children but threatened by father, paintings of children)?
3. When Jodie finally did come back for Kya, was his excuse for why he did not help her good enough?
4. Jake was wounded in the war during an episode where he did not go to help his wounded comrade and he was the only one who knew that.  How did this affect his life?
5. In 1961 when Tate when to college, he did not return for years.  Did you expect him to return on July 4 of that year as he had promised?
6. Did you understand Tate’s decision to leave Kya?  Was it realistic that they could have had a life together?
7. Discuss Chase and his relationship with Kya.  He had come with the plan to have sex one way or another, but on page 162 the author wrote that he stopped and said he understood and that “he was entranced.”  Did he really have a change of heart?  Why did he talk to Kya about marriage (page 189) if he did not plan to do so? Was he really that cruel?
8. Why did Chase continue to wear the shell necklace even after he married Pearl?
9. After Chase got married, Kya compared him to the males of the animal world her mother had called, “leapfrogging sneaky fuckers” (page 212).  Was it realistic that she could have denied him?
10. If the truant officer had found Kya when she was in elementary school and taken her away to a foster family, how would her life have been different?  Which was the best life for her?
11. How do you think Kya would have adapted to a life either with Tate or Chase in the “outside world?”
12. Kya seemed to have a special relationship with animals.  In one instance when she was out in the boat with Chase, porpoises swam to boat and “their keen eyes fixing on Kya…eased up against the hull, and she bowed her face only inches from theirs” (page 178).   Did Sundee Justice, the courthouse cat, also have a special relationship with her?
13. What did you think about the ending?   Were you surprised?
14. Why was this book on the best-seller list for so long?  What made it so popular?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

Characters
Richardson Family	Others
William - lawyer Elena - reporter Lexie Trip Moody Isabelle – Izzy - youngest	Mia Warren/Wright Pearl George and Regina Wright – Mia’s parents Warren – brother, deceased Joseph and Madeline Ryan – Pearl’s father Mark and Linda McCullough Mirabelle (May Ling) Bebe – May Ling’s mother Ed Lim - lawyer Serena Wong – Lexie’s friend Brian – Lexie’s boyfriend Pauline Hawthorne – artist of “Virgin and Child #1” (1982) Anita Rees – Rees Art Gallery in Manhattan

For Discussion:

NOTE: All page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Discuss the dynamics in the Richardson family, particularly Elena and Izzy.  On page 111 the author wrote about Izzy, “The sense that all the children had – including Izzy – was that she was a particular disappointment to their mother, that for reasons unclear to them, their mother resented her.”  On the last page Elena comes to the realization that she and Izzy are similar and that Izzy has the spirit she did not recognize in herself. 
2. Toward the end of chapter 11 the author described Elena’s “reverence for order and rules and decorum” (page 159).  Also, on page 161 the author wrote of Elena, “All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing.  It so easily went out of control.”  Also, on page 161, “Rules exist for a reason: if you followed them, you would succeed; if you didn’t, you might burn the world to the ground.”  How was this philosophy evident in Elena and not in Mia and Izzy?   What do you think about rules?
3. The Shaker community was based on the idea that “Perfection: that was the goal…feeding those who grew up there with a propensity to overachieve and a deep intolerance for flaws” (page 23).  Aside from “intolerance for flaws,” is there anything wrong with striving for perfection?
4. How accurate do you think Mia’s assessment was of Elena at the end of chapter 18 when Elena told her to move away?  Mia said, “It terrifies you.  That you missed out on something.  That you gave up something you didn’t know you wanted” (page 302).
5. Mia started to work for the Richardson family, cleaning in the morning when no one was there and cooking in the afternoon when everyone was there so that she could observe them “both when they were there and when they weren’t” (page 73).  What would someone learn about you if they studied your home when you were not there?
6. Discuss the photos Mia left for the Richardson family and how they described each person (chapter 20, pages 328-329).
7. Was Elena justified in searching into Mia’s background?
8. Discuss Mia and her decision to run away with Pearl and keep her from her father.  How was that different from the Richardson’s trying to take Mirabelle away from Bebe?
9. When Elena discovered Mai’s past, she reflected, “What would she have done if she’d been in that situation?” (page 239).  What do you think she would have done?
10. What was so alluring about Mia to Izzy and Lexie? 
11. Why do you think Mirabelle did not cry out when Bebe took her from her crib?  Would it have been different if, as Elena hoped, she had never known her mother?
12. Did Mia unconsciously give Bebe permission to take her baby when she told her, “You will always be her mother.  Nothing will ever change that” (page296).
13. When reading the first part of chapter 16 where the narrative flipped back and forth between the McCullough’s and Bebe’s cases, did you think one side was more compelling than the other?   Did you agree with the ruling?
14. At the beginning of the novel (chapter 7, pages 79-82), when Izzy was mad at Mrs. Peters for picking on Deja, Mia asked her what she was going to do about it (page 79).  She went so far as to tell her not to just target Mrs. Peters.  Was this irresponsible on Mia’s part?  How did this influence the end of the novel?
15. When trying to explain to Izzy that Bebe would somehow survive when she was not given custody, Mia used the analogy of new growth after a cleansing prairie fire (page 295).   Was she unconsciously planting the idea in Izzy’s head of burning down the house?
16. Do you think Elena will ever find out that Lexie had the abortion?  Will Lexie tell her?  How do you think she will react?
17. What do you think happened after the story ended?   Did Izzy find Mia and Pearl?  Were the various families reunited; Mia with the Wrights, Izzy with the Richardsons?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.

The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict

People
Austria	Hollywood
Hedwig Kiesler – Hedy Lamarr Gertrude – mother Father – bank manager Friedrich “Fritz” Mandl – munitions manufacturer, 1937 collaborated with Hitler Ada – maid Ernest von Starhemberg – vice-chancellor, ousted by Schuschnigg for being too soft on Germans Ferdinand von Starhemberg – brother, instrumental in attempted escape Kurt von Schuschnigg – Minister of Justice and Education; Austrian dictator, May 1936 Chancellor Dollfuss – cohort of Fritz Social Democratic Party Christian Social Party – Fritz’s party, anti-Semites Mussolini – “Il Duce,” armed by Fritz Laura – maid similar in appearance to Hedy	Hedy Lamarr – Hedwig Kiesler Louis B. Mayer Margaret Mayer Ilona Massey – Hungarian actress, roommate Gene Markey – second husband James – adopted son Mrs. Burton – nanny George Antheil – composer, scientist, inventor National Inventor’s Council Eddie Rhodes – sailor in audience of all war bond performances, Hedy offered to kiss him if certain amount of war bonds sold

or Discussion:

For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. Did Hedy and her family have a choice regarding her marriage to Fritz?  Her father felt Fritz could protect Hedy and her mother (page 100).
2. Hedy always felt that her mother thought her unworthy, but toward the end of the book she told Hedy she only did that to counteract the praise from her father.  Was her explanation in the letter sent in 1939 believable?  Did you believe her mother or understand her?
3. Hedy’s father thought that Fritz was committed to keeping Austria independent from Germany (page 39).  Was Fritz a hero for trying to protect Austria or a villain for producing weapons and arming Mussolini?
4. Discuss the differences between Hedy’s two dressers – Mrs. Lubbig in Austria (chilly and reticent) and Susie in America (bubbly).  One difference Hedy noticed was that, “Americans were so familiar with one another” (page 161).
5. Hedy felt guilty about not warning anyone of the impending dangers she discovered in listening to Fritz and his colleagues’ conversations.  In 1939 she thought, “The gravity of my crime had become clear…. I bore blame for keeping this secret.  My silence and selfishness had allowed the floodgates to open” (page 184).  Realistically was there anything she could have done?
6. George Antheil was a composer, but he worked with Hedy on radio-control system ideas for the torpedoes.  Hedy said he was perfect because he had “a highly developed sense of mechanical instruments…You approach problems – the world, even – from a broad perspective” (page 205).  Why do you think they were so successful as a team?
7. At one point, George spontaneously kissed Hedy and it took a while for her to forgive him.  She “understood that his overture had been kneejerk, as Susie like to say, a behavior ingrained by society in most men” (page 215).  Would this be forgiven today?
8. At the end of the book, Hedy wondered which person she had become; “Hedy Lamarr, only a beautiful face and lissome body” or “Had I taken the persona to which I’d been relegated and made myself into a weapon against the Third Reich after all” (page 243).   What do you think?
9. According to Wikipedia, there were several inaccuracies in this story.  For example, her parents did not approve of her marriage to Fritz and also documentation was discovered that proved that James was not a refugee baby but instead the illegitimate child of Hedy and John Loder, her third husband.   Are these facts important to your opinion of Hedy Lamarr?
10. Given the above information, this would be classified as historical fiction.  Did you like the way it was written in the first person?

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.  

Us Against You, by Fredrik Backman

Hockey Teams

Others

Peter Andersson – General Manager Kira – wife, lawyer Maya – raped by Kevin Erdahl Leo – 12 years old Benji Ovich Mother Sisters – Katia, Adri, and Gaby Amat Fatima – mother, cleans rink Bobo Ann-Katrin – mother, nurse, cancer Hog – father Two younger siblings Vidar Rinnius – released early from facility to be goalie, Teemu’s younger brother, killed in accident Sune – previous coach, sick Elizabeth Zackel – head coach Heb team: David – coach William Lyt

Peter’s best friends: Tails – owns supermarket Hog Ana – Maya’s friend Amat’s best friends: Zacharias Lifa Councillors: Richard Theo Female politician – ax in hood of car Spanish-home-owning politician Ramona – owns Bearskin bar Five uncles The Pack: Teemu Rinnius Spider Woody Jeanette – teacher, martial arts teacher Alicia – 4 ½ years old, future hockey player

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1. What did you think about the various characters in the novel?  Were they portrayed as good, bad, or a complicated mix?  Consider Richard Theo, the Pack, Peter, the female politician, and others.
2. Elizabeth named Benji as team captain and told him, “…I’m giving you the thing you’re most terrified of: responsibility for other people” (page 193).  Following that, he and the team realize he has already become their leader.  Why did she pick Benji?
3. Why did the people in both towns care so much that Benji was gay?
4. David, coach of Hed team, felt that “…leadership is a matter of manipulating emotions to achieve results” (page 204).   Does this present a more negative view of leadership?   How effective were the various leaders in the novel?
5. Did you understand how sports was portrayed in the novel?  For example, the author wrote, “It’s easy for children to love hockey, because you don’t have to think when you’re playing it.  Memory loss is one of the finest things sports can give us” (page 17).  Is this true of all sports?
6. The other allure of sports that the author emphasized was that the team can become like a family, “(f)or anyone who needs an extra one or never had one in the first place” (page 332). And that “(s)ports carry the promise that we can have everything tonight.  Only sports can do that” (page 333).  Do you agree?  If you played a team sport did you experience this?
7. Do you think the dynamics in the Andersson family was fair?  Peter and Kira decided to stay in Beartown to fight for the team, but was this fair to Maya and Leo?  Maya told Peter she did not want to move because, “this is my town, too” (page 58).  How did this decision affect Leo?  What about Kira sacrificing her career for Peter and the team?
8. On page 63 the author wrote, “So if you want to understand their biggest stories, first you have to listen to the smaller ones.”   Do you agree?  What were the small stories in the novel that influenced the overall plot? 
9. If you did not read Beartown, did you feel caught up with the story line and characters?
10. There were many issues addressed in the novel including the following.  Were there too many?  How well did the author address each one?  Did you gain any new insights?
1. Friendship
2. Loyalty
3. Family vs. career
4. Social media
5. Sexuality
6. Treatment of rape victims
7. Justice
8. Mental health
9. Crowd mentality
10. Politicians – honest and dishonest
11. Death

11. Did you like the foreshadowing the author used?  Did it keep you interested in the story and wanting to see what happened?
12. Besides the foreshadowing, did you enjoy the author’s writing?  For example, on page 292 he led the reader to think something different had happened than where the story went when he wrote, “There’s a long period of silence.  Then a single shot echoes between the trees.”  The writer led the reader to think Benji committed suicide but that is not what happened.

*****
First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available as an eBook and hard copy from amazon.com and hard copy from wordassociation.com.