That Month in Tuscany (Cooper) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for THAT MONTH IN TUSCANY … then take off on your own:

1. How would you describe Lizzy Harper? What does the following observation suggest about how she views her life: "a day is normally sectioned off by appointments… and meetings… all of those things that manage to steal most of the best parts of our waking hours." (By the way, does that have complaint have a familiar ring to you and your own life?)

2. If someone bowed out of a trip that you had planned together, would you have the temerity to take off on your own as Lizzy does? (Perhaps that's actually happened to you.)

3. How does Ty, Lizzy's husband come across, both in his own chapters and in what Lizzy has to say about him? Why does Lizzy stay in the marriage? Also, Ty's chapters use the unusual 2nd person point-of-view. Why might the author have made that choice?

4. Talk about Ren Sawyer and the impact his brother's death has had on him. Why does he seem to struggle with his fame?

5. What draws Ren and Lizzy together? What do they see in one another? What are each seeking? Ultimately, what do the two learn from (or through) one another—how does their relationship change their lives?

6. What is Lizzy's relationship with her daughter? Why is Kylie so surprised when Lizzy takes off to Tuscany on her own? How does Kylie's understanding of her mother—and her father—change by the end of the novel?

7. Do you feel the subplot involving Kylie's kidnapping is well-integrated into the storyline, adding a good dose of suspense to the novel? Or do you feel it's a distraction from the main story? Perhaps, it's merely an awkward plot device used to get Lizzy to return home? Any thoughts?

8. Kylie's story is told in the 3rd person: does the narrator have an identity? If not, why might the author have chosen this perspective for Lizzy's daughter?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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