Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Evening Star:
1. Aurora Greenway believes that life is...
nothing but a matter of innumerable comings and goings, separations and separateness, of departures from which there might be no certain return.
How is this passage reflected throughout the novel—in terms of mood, plot, or theme?
2. How would you describe Aurora? What kind of character is she? If you have read Terms of Endearment, has Aurora changed over the years? Are you sympathetic toward her character...or irritated by her...or impatient with her?
3. How do Aurora, Rosie, and the General, all of whom are feeling the dread and pressure of old age, cope with their frustrations? Talk about their their various coping techniques—how would you describe them?
4. What about Aurora's grandchildren—Melanie, Teddy, and Tommy. Aurora worries that she somehow failed in raising them after their mother, Emma, died. What do you think? Which of the now-adult children do you most sympathize with?
5. Robert Plunket in a New York Times review says Aurora's family is "a happy unhappy family." What does he mean...and is he right?
6. Larry McMurtry is known for his comic writing. What parts did you find especially amusing? Or do you think (as some readers do) that McMurtry goes to far: that the scenes, for instance, revolving around the general's nudity are tasteless? What is your opinion?
7. A good deal of the plot revolves around sex. But sex seems to represent something more than simple lust for these characters. What do you think drives their desire for coupling?
8. Is this book too long? Did it hold your interest for all of its 600+ pages?
9. Are you satisfied with the way the story ends? Why or why not?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)