Montpelier Tomorrow (MacDonald) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. In most novels there’s a clear heroine or hero working to defeat an enemy. In Montpelier Tomorrow do you think that Sandy is the villain or that Tony is? Sandy and Colleen have quite a lot of conflict, and that conflict escalates as the novel progresses. Do you think Sandy considers her mom an antagonist or an ally? How about Tony: Who are his allies? Who helps him in his dark night of the soul?

2. What do you think about an unseen villain being the antagonist, namely ALS itself? Given Colleen’s background, could Fate be considered the antagonist?

3. Do you think some families or individuals have a disproportionate share of bad things happen to them? What did you think about Sandy’s remark about feeling like bad luck magnet?

4. Imagine that each of the main characters is carrying baggage from the past. What is in Sandy’s suitcase? What baggage is Lillian carrying? Does Tony have baggage, or is ALS burden enough?

5. What did you think the chapters in Chicago reveal about Colleen’s character? When you were reading the novel were you glad for a break about then?

6. Did you like Esmeralda? Did Colleen have an easier time being with her than being with Sandy?

7. What were Colleen’s unmet needs? These might be physical or psychological. By the end of the book what was her greatest unmet need?

8. Do you think it’s easy for mothers and daughters to know each other on a deep level, or are there traps or patterns that families revert to when they’re together?

9. Guilt is a big player in the novel. Can you talk a little about Sandy’s guilt in not being able to spend more time with her children? What about Colleen’s guilt that she didn’t invite Esmeralda to live with her?

10. The climactic event of the novel is precipitated by Sandy’s decision to come back on the train from Disney World. In what way has the book prepared you to believe that her decision was almost inevitable? Could she have left Tony with his parents and not been plagued by guilt?

11. Were there places where you understood that the children were being hurt by Tony’s illness? Can you think of scenes where Josh revealed his worries?

12. In a sense readers are the bystanders to this drama, much like the friends from Tony’s and Sandy’s neighborhood and like Colleen’s teacher-friends. How much do you think Sandy’s and Tony’s neighbors really understood what was going on inside that house? If you’d received an email with the "to do" list, would you have signed up for the early morning shift or found reasons not to?

13. At the end of the book, Colleen and Charles discuss the idea of heroism: who is and who is not behaving heroically. How do you think Colleen feels about herself at the end of the book?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

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