Discussion Questions
1. 86 is a term used in restaurants. It’s used in several ways and as different parts of speech. 86 can mean being out of something, or doing away with something. A restaurant kitchen usually starts the evening with “nothing 86”. Later, when there isn’t any more Key Lime pie, the head cook or the restaurant manager goes around and tells all the servers to “86 the Key Lime”—meaning there aren’t any more servings left so the servers shouldn’t take any more orders for that dessert.
How does the title relate to the story? To the three main characters?
2. The author knew about two themes when she was writing: loneliness and the power of friendship. It wasn’t until she’d completely finished the book that she recognized a third theme: identity. How do we discover who we really are, so we can be at home in ourselves?
Nick wants to be more than his father’s son. Lydia wants to be more than her mother’s daughter. How do these characters invent themselves as adults without having had adult role models to respect or honor?
Where else in the book can you see the related themes of identity and one’s real or proper name?
3. Nick’s story is told in narrative, Lydia’s in the form of letters. Does this work for you, the reader? What benefits might come from having Lydia tell her own story?
4. Do you consider Sam a true character in the book? Or do you think of him as just part of Lydia?
5. Kim is isolated from others by her self-destructive choice of men, her cynical view of the world and her place in it, and her negative ideas about what life holds for women in general. Read the section on page 90 that starts with “Once at work”. What does this say about Kim’s expectations as a woman? How does she begin to overcome these beliefs?
6. Lydia is also isolated from others, but she’s generally more upbeat and sunny than Kim. Do you think this is just a difference in the two women’s personalities? What other factors might have contributed?
7. After a traumatic occurrence that shakes everyone at the Steak and Stine, Lydia writes to Sam, “I don’t want you to feel the burden of knowing that so many of us distrust you just because you’re male, but even more I don’t want to keep the secrecy of female fear”. Do you agree with her that many, or maybe even most, females fear men at times just because they’re male?
8. Nick’s search for a church wasn’t part of the first several drafts of the book. How do his religious beliefs and doubts relate to his life history? To his struggle to become a man worthy of respect?
9. As Lydia’s mother ages and becomes more dependent, it is increasingly difficult for Lydia to protect herself from her mother’s lifelong disapproval of almost everything in Lydia’s life. Do you predict Lydia’s attempts to cope with her mother’s demands will be successful?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)