Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh

 

Characters
Novak family	Others
Father – miner, died Rose – mother Dorothy - oldest Georgie – oldest son Joyce Sandy Lucy	Evelyn Lipnic – George’s high school girlfriend   Gene Stusick – George’s best friend, married Evelyn, union president, mine foreman   Leonard Stusick – Evelyn and Gene’s son, graduated from medical school   Washington D.C.: Mag Spangler – high school classmate, helped Dorothy get situated Patsy Sturgis – Dorothy’s roommate Chick Rowsey – wounded veteran   Kip Quigley – Marion’s brother, cheated off George’s tests in college   Angelo Bernardi – son of undertaker, divorced, dating Dorothy, died in mine explosion   Susan Jevic – Joyce’s student, worked in library, married Arthur   Ed Hauser – vice principal, married Joyce
Dorothy – went to Washington D. C. for job, returned to Bakerton, affair with Angelo Bernardi   George: Marion – wife Arthur – son   Joyce – came home to care for mother and Lucy, went back college part time, became 8th grade teacher, married Ed Hauser, daughter   Sandy – unknown locations   Lucy – nursing degree from Pitt, returned to Bakerton, married Leonard

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from paperback edition.

1.       Why did Marion marry George and why did he marry her?  Marion was “unlike any woman he had ever known” (page 105).

2.       When the mine cave-in was happening, George told Evelyn, “I married the wrong woman, I made a terrible mistake” (page 287).   Later, when he asked her to marry him, she replied, “Oh, George, the years go.  You can’t have them back” (page 313).  Would George have been happier if he had married Evelyn?

3.       Why do you think many of the characters came back to Bakerton in the end?  For example, Lucy, Arthur, Sandy, Dorothy?

4.       What did you think about Joyce giving up her military career after four years and returning home to take care of Rose?  Would this be any different if the story was set in 2021?

5.       Joyce “longed to devote herself to something of consequence; of the paths open to her, only the military seemed meaningful enough” (page 117).   Even though Joyce was disappointed in the military, did she have any other options?  In the end, did she achieve her goal?

6.       Joyce paid for Lucy’s education, which Lucy seemed to expect, with the understanding that “she’d always been expected to leave…It was the sisters who stayed” (page 315).  Why was Lucy not able to stay away?

7.       When Lucy returned and ran into Steven Fleck and Connie Kulka at the diner, given what Lucy had achieved, why was she so miserable to see them (page 280-281)?

8.       Discuss Dorothy’s time in Washington D. C.  How did her roommate, Patsy Sturgis, and their friendship with Chick Rowsey, influence Dorothy’s life?

9.       What happened to Dorothy?  Mag Spangler called Joyce and had her come to Washington D. C. to get Dorothy.  She told Joyce, “Something is terribly wrong with Dorothy” (page 176).

10.   Discuss the importance of food in the story.

a.       Rose was not able to quit eating sweets after husband’s funeral.

b.       Rose encouraging Lucy to eat with her, even though Lucy was overweight and unhappy (pages 141-142).

c.       Lucy eventually lost her taste for food after friend pointing out she had a great figure (page 238).

d.       Traditional ethnic dishes mentioned in the story. 

e.       Dorothy cooking for Arthur, “an Italian soup he couldn’t get enough of…He had never eaten so well in his life” (page 323).

11.   Have you ever heard of “the trough dance?”  It is defined as “when a younger sibling gets married before an older sibling; the older sibling is supposed to get in the hog trough and dance. This is done to bless the younger sibling's wedding, as it was once believed to be bad luck for a younger sibling to marry before an older sibling” (www.megasound1.blogspot.com).  How do you think this made the older siblings feel?

12.   As you were reading the story, what did you think Sandy was doing during those years? Why do you think the author never filled in his story?

13.   Did you like the ending of the novel – pages 330-332 quickly wrapped everything up and pages 333-334 introduced new people to area?

*****

First Semester Success, 2nd edition, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com and wordassociation.com.