Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver

Characters
Family and friends	Others
Dellarobia Turnbow Cub – husband Preston and Cordelia – children First baby - stillborn Hester and Burley (Bear) Turnbow – Cub’s parents Dovey – Dellarobia’s friend Bobby Ogle - Pastor	Ovid Byron- scientist Juliet – wife Pete, Mako and Bonnie – students Crystal Ester Jazon and Mical – sons Brenda, sisters and mother – ran church nursery Lupe and Reynaldo Josefina – daughter – school friend of Preston’s Tina Ultner – television reporter Leighton Akins – Sustainability Pledg

For discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are for the paperback edition.

1. When you first read the description of the forest at the beginning of the novel, what did you think it was?  How well did the author make you see the image without telling you what it was? On page 35 the author wrote, “Unearthly beauty had appeared to her, a vision of glory to stop her in the road.  For her alone these orange boughs lifted, these long shadows became a brightness rising.  It looked like the inside of joy.”

2. Discuss Dellarobia’s dissatisfaction with Cub as a husband.  Was it fair?  At one point she “wished she was a different wife, for whom Cub’s good heart outweighed his bad grammar.”  Would things have been different if she had treated him differently?

3. How did the local culture affect the young people growing up?  Could they do anything different?  Did anyone seem happy in the novel?  What do you think will happen to Preston?

4. Did you think Hester and Burley’s treatment of Dellarobia was fair and considerate?  Why did they treat her the way they did?   Why did they treat Cub the way they did?

5. At the beginning of the novel Dellarobia stated that she had nothing of her own and once had a dream of “birds pulling the hair from her head…”    Could you understand this picture that she painted of motherhood?  

6. What did you think when Dellarobia was going up the mountain to have an affair?  Could you understand her motivation?  What would have happened if it had actually taken place?  Why was she always having obsessions with other men? 

7. What were some of your favorite scenes from the novel?  Some of mine were:
1. When Dellarobia tried to impress Ovid with what she knew about the butterflies only to discover that he was an expert scientist in the field.
2. Ovid’s respectful treatment of Preston and his interest in science.
3. Cordelia and toy telephone - Dellarobia stated that “she doesn’t know it’s a telephone.”
4. Dellarobia taking Akins’ Sustainability Pledge 

8. Discuss Tina Ultner and her interview with Ovid.  Did you think this was a fair representation of the news media?  Did it make you watch the news any differently, perhaps with some skepticism?

9. When reflecting on Ovid’s influence on Preston, especially at their first meeting, Dellarobia stated that, “You never knew which split second might be the zigzag bolt dividing all that went before from everything that comes next.”   Do you think this is possible?  Have you had such a moment?   

10. When Ovid and Dellarobia were discussing peoples’ understanding of climate change, Ovid didn’t understand why people do not comprehend what is happening.  Dellarobia stated that, “People only see things they already recognize…. They’ll see it if they know it.”   Do you agree?   Why? 

11. (SPOILER ALERT!)  Were you surprised to find out who Bobby was?   What did you think about the church service before the family was to meet with him to decide how to use the land and lumber on the mountain?   Did he design the service to sway Bear’s opinion? 

12. Discuss Leighton Akins, his Sustainability Pledge and how none of the items related to Dellarobia and her way of life.  Was Leighton completely unaware of the rest of the world? 

13. How did Dellarobia change throughout the novel?   After working with Ovid and interns, she thought, “Never in her life had anyone spoken to her this way, and now someone had, and it made her a different sort of person.  Someone she would like to keep being” (page 258).  

14. On page 323 the author wrote about how difficult it is to understand a different side of an issue.  Dellarobia said to Ovid, “People shut out the other side.  It cuts both ways.”  Ovid replied, “Humans are hardwired for social community…Reading the cues and staying inside the group, these are number-one survival skills in our species.”  How can we bridge this divide?

15. This novel was published in 2012.    Did it change or support your thoughts about climate change?  Is fiction an effective means of effecting change or public opinion?

16. Did you like the ending?   What do you think will happen next?

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

Beartown, by Fredrik Backman

Characters
Team members and families	Others
Kevin Erdahl Mother Father Amat Fatima – mother Benjamin Ovich “Benji” Father deceased Mother Andri – sister, owns kennel Katia – sister, runs bar Gaby – sister, two daughters William Lyt Maggan – mother Mario – dad Bobo Hog – father, mechanic Ann-Katrin – mother, nurse Filip Mother – elite cross-country skier	Peter Andersson – General Manager Kira- wife, lawyer Maya – daughter Leo – son Isak – deceased son Ana – Maya’s friend Sune – coach of A Team David – coach of junior team Tails – former player, one of team supporters Ramona – owner Bearskin Zacharias – Amat’s friend Robbie Holts – played with Peter, did not succeed Jeannette – teacher, former hockey player and martial arts professional The Pack – young former players

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1. How did you feel about Bobo?  Did your thoughts about him change as you read the novel?  Why was he always telling jokes?  On page 134 the author wrote that Bobo was “…terrified of corners, of being forgotten, left unacknowledged.”   How did this fear manifest itself in the story?   What surprised you about Bobo?
2. What positive or negative affect did Bobo’s jokes have on the team? Also, on page 225 the author wrote, “Jokes are powerful like that, they can be both inclusive and exclusive.”  Do you agree?
3. Discuss the instance when Kevin was left behind by his father in Hed when he was five minutes late compared to when the entire team waited much longer for Kevin and Benji (Chapter 7).  What did Kevin learn compared to what his father wanted to teach him?
4. In coaching, David and Sune had different philosophies about moving talented players up out of their age group – Sune wanted players to develop with their peers and David’s main priority was winning.  At one point, Sune wondered, “…what point are principles if you don’t win” (page 54).  Could the two philosophies co-exist?
5. Different philosophies of parenting were in the novel: Kevin’s parents gave money but no time, Amat’s mother gave time but had no money, Maya’s mother had panic attacks and felt that she was “a bad mother” (page 63).  How did these styles affect the children?
6. Kevin’s parents did not attend the semi-final game.   His father thinks that they have raised Kevin to be a strong person but his mother sees him as “the loneliest boy on earth” (page 117).  How did this affect Kevin?
7. One statement the author wrote was, “…if you tell a child it can do absolutely everything, or that it can’t do anything at all, you will in all likelihood be proven right” (page 79, beginning of chapter 11).   How did this idea play out in the story?  Do you think this is a correct statement?
8. The author describes loyalty as being both positive and negative: positive because people help others out of loyalty and negative because they do terrible things because of loyalty (page370, beginning of chapter 45).  How was loyalty to the team and friends both positive and negative in the novel?
9. Since Maya waited a week to go to police, do you think she should have waited until after the game to finally tell her story?   What difference would that have made in the outcome of the game and story?
10. Many characters felt guilt or shame in the novel:
1. Anna – didn’t look for Maya at the party
2. Kira – didn’t check on Maya at home
3. Amat – didn’t help Maya when he discovered them in Kevin’s room
4. Benji – laughed at gay jokes in locker room
5. David – Benji did not tell him he was gay
6. Kevin’s mother – did not pay attention to Kevin

Do you think they should have felt the way they did?  How will this affect their lives?

11. Were you surprised who the four players were who stayed with the Beartown team; Amat, Zacharias, Bobo and Benji?  Of the four, which ones turned professional, who is the dad and who is dead?  (See pages 395 and 399 about David’s watch. Is this a clue?)
12. How well do you think the book depicted the culture of hockey?  Do you think the hockey culture is different from other sports?  How important was hockey to the novel?  Could it have been a different sport?
13. How well do you think the book dealt with the rape and the aftermath for the entire town?
14. Did you read anything in the novel that made you think about something differently?  Did you agree with all the comments the author made?
15. How did you like the writing style?  The story jumped around among characters and the author often left unanswered questions.  Do you like this style or do you prefer a straight story?  Could this story have been told any other way?

*****
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.   Click on the upper right link.