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?