Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler

 

Characters
Moran family	People met during day
Maggie – works in nursing home Ira – owns family frame shop   Jesse – son, divorced, wants to be a musician Fiona – wife  Leroy – daughter   Mrs. Stuckey – Fiona’s mother   Daisy – daughter, freshman in college   Sam – Ira’s father Dorie – sister, mentally handicapped Junie – will not leave house unless in costume	Serena – Maggie’s childhood friend, recreated wedding at funeral Max – husband, attending his funeral Linda – daughter, husband Jeff   High School friends: Sugar Rilg Sissy Parton – played piano Durwood Clegg – sang at funeral with Maggie when Ira refused   Mabel – waitress   Daniel Otis – Maggie told him his front tire was loose Lamont – son, works at gas station Duluth – wife, mad at Daniel for something she dreamed about him

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from 1988 paperback edition.

1.      What did you think about the idea of recreating Serena and Max’s wedding at Max’s funeral?

2.      At the funeral, Serena told Maggie about life, “That’s what it comes down to in the end, willy-nilly: just pruning and disposing” (page 80).  She went on to talk about raising children to survive without you, throwing out their toys, moving to a smaller house, etc.  Do you agree?  Are there some things too special to get rid of?

3.      Were there any parts that you particularly related to?  For example:

a.      Picking at the skin on back of hand and not having it go back immediately

b.      Driving with a map or no map

c.      Striking up in-depth conversations with someone you just met

4.      Daisy asked Maggie, “Mom? Was there a certain conscious point in your life when you decided to settle for being ordinary?” (page 30).  Did you think Maggie was “ordinary” or was there something special about her?  Why couldn’t Daisy see her mother in a different light?

5.      Ira described Maggie as “Not a straight-line kind of person” (page 162).   What did he mean?  Was that a good description?

 

6.      Discuss the characters of Ira and Maggie.  How would you describe their personalities?   At one point, Ira had wanted to become a doctor but had to abandon that dream to take over his father’s shop and support his family.  Maggie was always trying to take care of others and often stepped in and did things her own way.  Would you have liked to know either of them?

7.      Why did Maggie and Ira seem to always/often say the wrong thing or lie?  For example, Maggie told Fiona that Jesse had kept her soapbox and smelled it (pages 305 – 306) and that he was building a cradle for the baby (243).  Ira told Fiona that Jesse is sleeping with the “auto greeter” which was true (page 306).

8.      At one point Ira told Fiona “It’s Maggie’s weakness: She believes it’s all right to alter people’s lives.  She thinks the people she loves are better than they really are, and so then she starts changing things around to suit her view of them” (page 267).    How did you see this in the story?  Is that really so bad?

9.      Regardless of your opinion about abortion, what did you think about Maggie stopping Fiona at the clinic and then promoting her and Jesse to get married?

10.  This book was at times light-hearted and at other times quite deep in its exploration of life.  What parts of the book stuck out to you as meaningful or important?

11.  The story took place over one day, with the characters thinking back and reflecting on what happened in the past.   Were you easily able to follow the storyline?

12.  Would you recommend this book to a friend?  Why or why not?