The Women, by Kristin Hannah

 

Characters
Frances Grace McGrath Bette – mother Father Finley – brother, killed in Vietnam
Vietnam – late 1960’s	US - early 1970’s
Thirty-Sixth Evac Hospital   Major Wendy Goldstein – chief nurse   Roommates: Ethel Flint Barb Johnson   Dr. Jamie Callahan – doctor in OR Sarah - wife   Rye Walsh – Finley’s friend, Army officer, shot down and presumed dead Melissa – wife Affair with Frankie while on leave in Hawaii   Pleiku – Seventy-First Evac, near Cambodian border Frankie transferred here October 1967   My Lai massacre March 1968 Lt. William Calley convicted	Rye – not killed in action   Drunk driving and hit man on bicycle – lost nursing license   Inpatient therapeutic drug and alcohol treatment facility: Henry Acevedo – psychiatrist, met at protest   Dr. Alden – specializes in Vietnam vets   Frankie pregnant with Henry, planning to get married, miscarriage, wedding called off - 1972   PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder – new and controversial   The Last Best Place – 1974, ranch in Missoula, Montana: Donna Janet Other women who had been to Vietnam   Master’s in clinical psychology – Frankie and Donna   1982 – Vietnam Memorial dedicated Met Dr. Jamie Callahan   1983 – Vietnam Women’s Memorial

 

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.      When Frankie’s first tour was coming to an end, she re-upped.  Why do you think she did that?

2.      Were you surprised that the Veteran’s Administration would not treat Frankie in the early 1970’s?  They said it was only for veterans who had seen action.  What was the difference between the action seen by soldiers in the field and the wounds seen by the nurses in the hospitals?

3.      Did you understand the difficulties Frankie had when trying to reenter into her old life?  Do you think it would be possible to not have difficulty?

4.      Ethel and Barb seemed to reenter their lives easier than Frankie.   Why do you think this was?

5.      Frankie did not tell her parents she was coming home, she just walked into the house and surprised them.   Were you surprised at their reactions?   Would it have been different if they had known she was coming?

6.      Did you understand why her parents lied about where she was?   Why was it not admirable for women to go to Vietnam?

7.      Given the time period, what did you think about Frankie not being included in her father’s “Wall of Honor” until she was planning to get married?

8.      Did you learn anything new about the war and how the men and women were treated after coming home?

9.      Discuss your reading experience.  What were you doing in your life during the Vietnam War?  Were you aware of the controversy?

10. In the author’s note on page 471, the author said that when she was in elementary school, she got Colonel Robert John Welsh’s POW bracelet and wore it for several years.  That was the same name on the POW bracelet Frankie got on page 301 during the protest in Washington DC in 1971.  What were some of the small details from the novel that you remember and that you thought were meaningful?

11. How would this book have been received 10 years ago?  Would it be as popular?

 

The Demon of Unrest, by Erik Larson

 

South	North
Prior to 1861
General P. R. T. Beauregard – commanded all South Carolina military – stationed across bay from Ft. Sumter   Charleston – center of slave trade   James Henry Hammond – 300 slaves 1835 – U. S. House of Representatives Improper behavior with nieces Slave Sally Johnson – mistress 1857 – U. S. Senate   1854 - Senator Stephen Douglas Kansas-Nebraska Act – new territories should decide themselves about slavery   Edmund Ruffin – planter aristocracy, after Lincoln’s election traveled through South to promote succession   James Chestnut – U. S. Senator, resigned seat to protest Lincoln’s election Mary – wife, kept journal, enjoyed social aspect of husband’s career   Frances Pickens - South Carolina governor, seized all other forts and property in Charleston Harbor   General P. G. T. Beauregard – commanded all South Carolina military   Senator Stephen Douglas   Code Duello – rules for how to deal with offenses	Charleston Harbor Major Robert Anderson – commander Ft. Sumter, December 1860 brought all troops to Fr. Sumter and destroyed Ft. Moultrie   Col. John L. Gardner – commander of US Army forces in Charleston   Fort Moltrie – 4 miles east of Charleston, vulnerable   1851 – “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”   1858 – Abraham Lincoln – “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”   President Buchanan 1857 – 1961 Blamed North for problems because it gave slaves ideas about freedom.   Secretary of War Floyd
1861 and beyond
Jefferson Davis – president of Confederate States of America Varina – wife   Alexander Stephens – Vice President   Mary Chestnut – topic of gossip due to “flirtation” with former governor Manning   Edmund Ruffin – fired first shot against Ft. Sumter	Allan Pinkerton – detective agency, warned of assassination attempt in Baltimore on Lincoln’s way to inauguration Kate Warne – chief female detective   Star of the West – ship to reinforce Ft. Sumter – turned back   Ft. Sumter: Major Anderson – in charge Captain Foster – chief engineer, designed fortifications Assistant Surgeon Crawford   Seward – Secretary of State   Sir William Howard Russell – reporter from London Times

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.      Did you like the inclusion of the “Code Duello,” otherwise known as “The Code of Honor or Rules for the Government of Principals and Seconds in Duelling?” How did this add to book?  Did it apply to what was happening between the North and the South?

2.      At Fort Moultrie, Captain Thomas Seymour gave Major Anderson a three-page memo on how he thought the fort could be defended.   The author said that Seymour was “a particularly acute observer” because at West Point he had taken a drawing class.  Do you agree with this connection – did skill at drawing increase his ability to observe things?

3.      The author wrote about Lincoln’s inauguration, “…the ineffectual James Buchanan, had let all this come to pass without making any substantive effort to stop it” (page 298).  Was there anything Buchanan could have done or was the split and consequent war inevitable?

 

4.      In explaining the differences in opinion about slavery, the author wrote, “…the thing that the South most resented was the unalterable fact that the North, like the rest of the modern world, condemned slavery as a fundamental evil.  In so doing, abolitionists and their allies impinged the honor of the entire Southern white race, for if slavery was indeed evil, then the South itself was evil” (page 196).  He went on to explain that the South thought slavery was “a positive good…endorsed by the Bible” (page 196), and therefore the owners were good.  Could you understand their thought process?

5.      What did all the information about Mary Chestnut add to the story?  She had 26 references in the index (compared to 17 for John) and her two diaries are cited in the list of references.  In addition, the author mentioned the diaries in the Acknowledgements.

6.      What was the point about Mary’s flirtations with John Manning?  Why was this included several times?

7.      Did you like when the author told you what would happen to a person later?  For example, he told the reader that Col. George E. Picket would “lead an ill-fated charge at Gettysburg” on page 382.

8.      The bulk of the book was about Ft. Sumter.  How did this add to your understanding of the Civil War?

9.      Could you understand Robert E. Lee’s conflict of interest and subsequent decision to join the Confederate Army even though he was against slavery?

10. Why do you think the author chose to end the book in the last paragraph with Edmund Ruffin’s suicide?

11. Did reading this book give you any new insights into the Civil War or to the issue of slavery vs. equality?

12. Did you like the format of the book – the almost day-to-day telling of the story?

The Life Impossible, by Matt Haig

 

Characters

Grace Winters Karl – husband, deceased Daniel – son, deceased   Christina Papadakis van der Berg – friends with Grace as a young adult Johan – husband Lieke van der Berg – daughter, musician   Alberto Ribas - biologist Marta – daughter, astrophysicist and environmentalist   Art Butler – Eighth Wonder resorts   Sofia Torres – politician   “La Presencia”   Francisco Palau – priest, saw the arrival of La Presencia in 1855, disappeared in ocean like Christina, left handwritten biography in church   Es Vedra – rock formation in ocean offshore of Ibiza   Maurice Augustine – Grace’s former student, recipient of letter/story

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.      Discuss Grace.  When she came to Ibiza, she “sincerely believed I wasn’t a good person who deserved happiness” (page 71).  How did she change and grow throughout the novel?  Were you able to understand how she felt about Daniel’s death?  

2.      How did Grace being a mathematician influence her character in the story?

3.      Discuss the other characters, particularly Alberto and Christina.  Were you able to connect to them and understand their motivations?

 

4.      Did you like all of the references to math?  Did that add to or subtract from the story line for you?  For example:

a.      Page 49 – “Politics and sociology and history and psychology have facts you have to interpret.  But in mathematics, facts are just facts.”

b.      Page 314 – “it was only recently that she understood why the subject (math) was such therapy for her. It is because, in mathematics, you realise that balance and symmetry is actually in everything, even when it feels like chaos and pain.”

5.      What did you think at the beginning of the story when the olive jar magically refilled with liquid and glowed?

6.      When Grace was examining Francisco Palau’s manuscript, she thinks “I suppose that is one of the purposes of all reading.  It helps you live lives beyond the one you are inside” (page 173).  She compared reading to time travel and writes “It connects us to everyone and everywhere and every time and every imagined dream” (page 173).  Have you had these experiences when reading?  If so, what was a memorable one?

7.      There are a lot of miscellaneous things referenced in the book: Miss Marple (page 70), Sherlock Holmes (page 66), the Bible (page 182), reading, and mathematics throughout.  Did they add to the story for you?  Why do you think the author did that?

8.      Did you like the format of the novel being a letter to Maurice? 

9.      Was the end of the story satisfying to you?  For example, when Grace collapsed at the press conference, she had a vision where she was talking with Daniel when he told her to let her guilt go.  Also, the cormorants and a man o’ war jelly fish came ashore and killed Art.

10. Why do you think Alberto decided to die a human death as opposed to swimming through the portal?

11. On page 226 in the chapter “Islands Don’t Exist,” Grace thinks, “We need to look after each other.  And when it feels like we are truly, deeply alone, that is the moment when we most need to do something in order to remember how we connect.”  Do you think the author is sending this message to the reader or is it just part of Grace’s character?

Long Island, by Colm Toibin

 

United States – Long Island

Ireland - Enniscorthy

Eilis Fiorello Tony – husband Larry Rosella – headed to law school   Francesca – Tony’s mother Mauro – father   Enzo – brother Lena – wife   Mauro – brother Clara – wife   Frank – youngest brother, lawyer   Mr. Dakessian – owns garage, Armenian Erik – son Lusin – daughter   Irish man at door – wife pregnant by Tony, baby will be dropped off when born, to be adopted by Francesca, named Helen Frances

Jim Farrell – bar, dated Eilis before Nancy   Nancy Sheridan – chip shop Husband - deceased Miriam – daughter, getting married Gerard – son Laura – daughter, law school   Matt – Miriam’s fiancé Mrs. Wadding - mother   Eilis Mother Martin – brother Jack – brother, son Dominick Pat – brother, son Aidan Rose – sister who died 20 years ago   Jim’s bar: Shane Nolan – bartender Andy – bartender, brought sports oriented friends to bar Colette – Shane’s wife

 

For Discussion:

1.      Do you think Eilis would consider leaving Tony if the baby had not happened?

2.      What did Eilis think would happen when she shows up after 20 years and wants to totally change her mother’s house?  Why could she not see things from her mother’s perspective?

3.      Also, her mother decided to go home with Eilis and went so far as to look into airplane tickets without saying anything to Eilis. Why would she do this? Why was there a lack of communication in the family?

4.      Why did Eilis’ mother only display photos of her local grandchildren?   She had Larry and Rosella’s photos carefully preserved.

5.      Did you understand how Eilis always felt like an outsider in Long Island?   Have you ever experienced that feeling?  Should Tony and his family have seen that?  What could they have done to make her feel more a part of the family?

6.      Why did Eilis keep her two lives totally separate?   Tony knew nothing about Jim and vice versa. 

7.      Twenty years ago, when she first visited, why did she just leave without telling everything to Jim? 

8.      How would Eilis’ story be different if she and Tony and the rest of his family had not lived in their own little enclave?

9.      What do you think happens after the novel ends?

Before We Were Innocent, by Ella Berman

 

Characters

Joni Le Bon (Bonnier) Willa Bailey – fiancée Zoey – cheating with her   Elizabeth “Bess” Winter Steven – brother, Nova wife 5oulm8s – dating site, investigates and settles complaints   Evangelene “Ev” Aetos Stavros and Freya – parents Theo – brother, wife Sophia Home is Tinos – Greek Island

Minor Characters

Detectives Frost and Jenkins – investigating Willa’s disappearance   Zack, Bardo and Robbie – Theo’s friends the summer of Ev’s death   Lucien Miller – Willa’s lover, arrested

 

1.      Why did Joni make up the story about her being with Bess and Ev when Ev died when the truth left her totally beyond suspicion?  In 2018 Steven told Bess, “It makes zero sense why Joni would tell you to lie.  She placed you both at the scene of the crime when you weren’t there.  That makes no sense” (page 324).

2.      In 2018, Bess tells Steven “It was my fault Evangeline fell…I decided not to mention the path down to the beach that turned out to be hauntingly easy to traverse” (page 323).  Was it her fault?

3.      Discuss Joni’s and Bess’ reaction when they got home from Greece.  Joni used the experience to launch her entire career and Bess withdrew from society. 

4.      When Joni’s book was published, did the conversation with Bess and the dedication change or add to your idea of Joni?  She told Bess, “The book’s about the choices we make every day, often without realizing it” (page 271).

5.      Why do you think Joni planned for the book release to be on the 10-year anniversary of Ev’s death?

 6.      Why do you think Joni did what she did?  On page 335 Bess thought, “All this time I blamed myself for what happened when Joni could have put me out of my misery be telling me one single truth – it wasn’t my fault.”   Later Bess realized, “Only now I understand more.  I understand why she’s dedicated her entire life’s work to helping people like me…it was because of what she did to me on that beach in Mykonos.  For not only pulling me down with her but making me feel grateful for the privilege” (pages 335-336).

7.      What do you think happened to Joni in the end?

8.      How do you think Bess moved on after Joni’s disappearance?   Did she continue to isolate herself from the world or rejoin it?

Great Circle, by Maggie Shipstead

 

Characters
Marian Graves	Hadley Baxter
Addison Graves – father, ship captain, abandoned ship and saved twins Annabel – wife, drowned Jamie – twin, brother, artist Wallace – Addison’s brother, raised twins Berit - housekeeper   Caleb Kamaka – school friend Joey – son   Sarah Fahey – girl Jamie met in Seattle Adelaide Scott – daughter, sculptress, met Marian as a child, Jamie’s biological daughter   The Flying Brayfogles -Felix and Trixie   Trout Marx – pilot, teacher   Barclay Macqueen – bootlegger, owns plane, husband, eventually jailed Sadler – chauffer Katie - daughter   1934 – Marian to Atlanta – aka Jane Smith, abortion, paid to fly   WWII: Jamie – artist for Navy Marian – pilot for Air Transport Auxiliary in Britain Riat Bloom – pilot, Marian’s love interest   New Zealand – last 46 years of life: Becomes Martin Wallace, then Alice Root Visited by Caleb   The Sea, the Sky, the Birds Between: The Lost Logbook of Marian Graves – published by Matilda Feiffer – found 1958	Parents plane crashed into Lake Superior Mitch – uncle, raised Hadley   Roles: Katie McGee in “The Big-Time Life of Katie McGee” as a child and teen Marian Graces – “Peregrine”   Eddie Bloom – navigator on movie   Siobhan – agent   Oliver – living with Hadley, left after scandal Alexei Young – agent   Wings of Peregrine: A Novel – by Carol Feiffer Redwood Feiffer – wants to produce movie   Movie “Peregrine” Sir Hugo – agent, brought movie idea to Hadley Bart Olofsson - director
Others
Lloyd Feiffer – L & O Ship Lines, Addison saved his life as a child Matilda – funded Marian’s flight, 1948 bought publishing company, Sons – Henry, Clifford, Robert, Leander (died, age 6), George
Real aviators mentioned in novel – Jimmy Doolittle, Commander Richard Byrd, Amy Johnson, Elenor Smith, Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post, Amy Johnson and Jim Malison, Bill Lancaster

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.      Did the inclusion of real aviators in the novel add to your understanding of Marian Graves and her desire for flight?

2.      Did the parts about the advances in flight add to you reading?  Did they help you understand Marian’s adventuress personality?  Would you have been as daring as Marian and the early pilots?

3.      As you were reading the two stories, which did you enjoy the most.   Did your reading experience change at any time throughout the novel?

4.      Did you like the organization of the book with Hadley interspersed with Marion but not on a regular basis?

5.      Why do you think Marion married Macqueen?  When he sent her Trout Marx and the plane, she thought it was a bargain and he thought it was a gift.  Was it really just a gift in his view?

6.      How and why did the Feiffer’s get involved with Marian’s story and publish her book? 

7.      There were multiple characters beyond those listed in the chart, such as the Ayukawa family and daughter Sally who ran away from an arranged marriage after Jamie painted her portrait.  How important were they to the story?  Did you have trouble keeping everyone straight?

 

 

 

8.      There were several times when the author had the characters muse about the meaning of life and other issues.   Some examples are page 500 when Adelaide said to Hadley, “It’s impossible to fully explain yourself while you are alive…” and “Art is distortion but a form of distortion that has the possibility of offering clarification…”  Also on pages 264-265, when Redwood asked Hadley where they were, she answered, “The Angels” and described it in a very long paragraph starting with “It’s wind chimes and helicopters…gongs, oms and whale songs…”  What did you think about these sections?

9.      A lot of reviewers thought this book could have been much shorter. If you agree, what would you have eliminated?

10. When you read the section early in the novel about Sitting-in-the-Water-Grizzly, what did you think?  How did this fit into the novel?

11. At the end of the book, who came to Joey’s porch on page 571?

12. Did you like the ending?   Why do you think Marian decided to disappear?

Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus

 

Characters
Elizabeth Zott (raped by advisor at UCLA) Calvin Evans – deceased Madeline - daughter Six-Thirty – dog   Zott family: Father – in jail, killed three people during a “miracle” Mother – in Brazil, no contact Brother – raised Elizabeth, suicide   Evans family: Avery Parker – biological mother, was told he died Adopted parents – killed in train wreck Aunt – killed in car crash   Harriet Sloan – neighbor and babysitter Husband – abusive   Mrs. Mudford – teacher   Amanda Pine – school with Madeline, Walter’s daughter   Franklin Roth – reporter for “Life”, article about Elizabeth rewritten   Reverand Wakely – pen pal with Calvin	Hastings Research Institute
	Calvin   Elizabeth   Miss Frisk – in Personnel, eventually the head (raped by advisor in school)   Donatti – head of lab, stole Elizabeth’s work and published under his name   Boryweitz – Elizabeth’s lab mate, co-authored with Donatti
	Supper at Six
	Phil Lebensmal – head of station   Walter Pine – director of show   Rosa -make-up   Seymour Browne – security   Mrs. George Ellis – audience, “Marjorie”

 

For Discussion:

1.      Would you have watched Supper at Six?

2.      Did or do you watch afternoon TV?  What were or are your favorite shows?

3.      Why do you think rowing was such an important part of the novel?

4.      Discuss the characters, including Six-Thirty.  They all were important to the story line.  What did they add?  Who did you particularly connect with?

5.      Why did station director, Lebensmal, suppress the popularity of the show?  Did you like what finally happened to him?

6.      Do you remember a time when women were known by their husband’s name?

7.      Mrs. Mudford assigned students to research and draw their family tree.  Do you think this would be assigned today?

8.      Did you understand why Elizabeth and Calvin never married?  Do you think they would have married if they knew about Madeline?

9.      Elizabeth blamed herself for Calvin’s death.  Did you understand her reasoning?

10. What were your favorite parts of the novel?

11. Why has this book been so popular?  How do you think different generations of women will read and understand the book?

The First Ladies, by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

 

Eleanor Roosevelt	Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune
Franklin Delano Roosevelt – husband Children – Anna, Elliott, James “Brud”, John, Franklin Jr. (died as infant), Franklin Jr.   Sara Delano Roosevelt – mother-in-law	Albert Sr. – son Albert Jr. - grandson
Personal and Professional Life	Professional Life
Todhunter School for Girls – owner and teacher   Val-Kill Industries – reproduction and carpentry training   Val-Kill Cottage   Marion Dickerson and Nan Cook – friends, live at Val-Kill   Lorena Hickok “Hick”   Earl – Secret Service Agent   Newspaper column – “My Day”	Bethune-Cookman College – president   National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs – president   National Council of Negro Women, 1936   McLeod Hospital   Bethune Beach   Bethune Funeral Home - 1936 – run by Albert Sr.   National Youth Administration, Division of Negro Affairs – director, 1936   Walter White – NAACP executive secretary, could pass for white   Column in Pittsburgh Courier – “From Day to Day”
FDR
Lucy Mercer – affair with FDR   Lucy Mercer – Eleanor’s social secretary, affair with FDR   Missy LeHand – secretary   Louis Howe – friend and advisor, died 1936   Steve Woodburn – replaced Howe, worked against Eleanor (fictional – see page 373)

 

 

 

 

For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from hardback edition.

1.       At the very beginning of the book, Mary was at a dress shop and a woman introduces herself to Mary as “Mrs. Wallace” but calls Mary by her first name.   Mrs. Wallace has no idea why this offends Mary and is insulted when Mary points this out.   Did this give you an idea of the difficulties and lack of respect Mary faced in general?

2.       Were you surprised at all of the unspoken rules about behavior between whites and blacks?  For example, they couldn’t touch (page 244) or eat together in public.  

3.       Have you ever heard of Mary Bethune before this book?  If not, why do you think that was the case? 

4.       In February 1935 there was an art exhibit, An Art Commentary of Lynching, in New York City.  Why did the artwork move people so much when mere words might not have?

5.       At one point, Eleanor Roosevelt told Walter White at the art exhibit, that “Inaction in the face of racism is acquiescence to it” (page 190).   Are there other areas where the same can be said – that doing nothing is the same as approval?

6.       Did this book give you any new insights into Eleanor?  Did you know Eleanor’s mother was so critical and demeaning to her growing up?  How did this form her as an adult?

7.       Franklin’s infidelity is common knowledge.  Did you know about Eleanor and Hick and the idea of a “Boston marriage?”

8.       When Mary attended the Gridiron Widow’s dinner, Eleanor said to her, “I hope you won’t be uncomfortable as the only Negro in the room” (page 258).  In fact, the room was full of Negro servers, but Eleanor had never paid attention to them.  Was this her fault or a commentary on the times?  Were there any other incidents that stuck out to you as you were reading?

9.       The two authors invented a lot of the information in the novel, which is billed as Historical Fiction.  They explained their thinking in the Historical Note at the end.   What did you think about their inventions?

10.   Do you think this story could just have effectively been written by a single white author?

11.   The blurb on the front of the book said that the book will “expand your perspective.”  Did it do so?