The Angel with Burnt Wings
Scarlett Jensen, 2013
Authorhouse
212 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781481798426
Summary
This story is based on true life happenings of Alice. Most of us know the story of Alice in Wonderland. In the fairy tale, Alice follows a rabbit with pink eyes into a hole and the magical adventure begins.
In the book, The Angel with Burnt Wings, our Alice, follows a man called Vice and lands with him in prison. Prisonland becomes her destiny, where she spends many years. Discover the extraordinary world of shackled dreams, painful pasts and the hope for pure rebirth and victory.
Nothing could be a more true reflection of shackled lives behind the media's publicity-seeking headlines that strike a whole country from time to time. In this book we are reminded of gripping stories of sexual abuse, downfall, sex webs, prostitution, crime, shackles and shame, the heartache of a robber child and inflamed passion and devotion to a dominant lover.
We often wonder what has become of such victims. This story tells us of a real life crushing fall of an angel with burnt wings and her victory in becoming whole again through the anointing miracle of forgiveness.
This is a book that should be widely read to inspire us to claim and confirm our moral confines and social responsibilities. These events can happen to anyone of us. Parents open your senses and hear the cries of your children in obscurity. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—February 9, 1951
• Where—South Africa
• Education—B.A., University of Pretoria
• Currently—near Cape Town, South Africa
Scarlett Jensen was born in South Africa from Italian parents who established themselves in South Africa after World War ll. As her mother tongue is Italian, she was able to scrutinize Italian literature and with that she could also present real life experiences of women in jail in Italy.
Jensen received a B.A. in Psychology, Sociology and Criminology. She earned high level diplomas and experience in Public Administration and Management during her 27 year in the South African government service. Her area of work included human resources, education, arts, culture, language, science and technology. After retirement from the public service in 1999, Jensen obtained her International Diplomas in Aesthetics and Body Therapy specializing in Swedish Massage and Reflexology. For her dissertation she wrote a study guide for the practice of Aesthetics and Body Therapies in a clinical situation. As health and beauty specialist, principal and lecturer she managed her own clinic and school until 2010.
For the past 3 years Scarlett Jensen has been a freelance writer living near Cape Town in the Western Cape in South Africa. It was during this period that she became acquainted with the story of Alice which was related to her in her professional capacity. (From the author.)
Visit the author's website.
Book Reviews
(The following review was compiled by the publisher as a news release complied and mailed to over 600 media outlets throughout the English-speaking world.)
In The Angel with Burnt Wings, Jensen's new fictional memoir, readers are invited into the deepest, darkest recesses of Jensen's mind as she takes them into the once black hole of sexual abuse, crime and punishment that was her life.
Readers meet Alice, Jensen's alter ego, the angel with burnt wings, who lives a shackled life. As Alice begins to find herself and break away from the pit of despair she has fallen into, she also begins to shed her skin of Alice. With each step she takes towards the distant light, she begins to become Jensen.
Readers wach as Alice becomes a distant memory left in the cold, damp jail cell and how Jensen pushes her new life up into the light to become a golden girl.
This book looks back at her past life, says Jensen. It looks back at her downfall into a web of sex, shackles and shame and how she overcame and persevered to become the woman she is today. Only with God's help can we soar above the crushing influences. Only with God can we turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into triumph and a victim into a victory.
Authorhouse publishers
Discussion Questions
1. Talk about some of the keywords depicting the theme/subject of the book.
Prison book, child abuse, molestation, rape, prostitution, homosexuality, lost innocence, forgiveness, heaven and hell, rehabilitation in prison, parent-child relationships, juvenile crime and punishment, women in prison.
2. What inspired the author to write the book?
It is a story based on real life happenings. It was related to the author by Alice's mother. The author saw the potential in this gripping story to bring forth lessons to the world from the teenager's obscured life and the real life consequences of a self, broken down in scattered pieces and the will to stand up and start a renewed life through the amazing grace and forgiveness she received from God. With rebirth she acquired spiritual freedom. Alice, with the angelic face, was a straight-A student and she offered almost three decades of happenings in her life, written in an exceptional manner in her diaries and letters to her mother which formed the basic recordings of her reality, crushing down on her young soul that was caught up in a black hole of hell on earth.
3. What is the overall theme, central topic or concept of the book?
It is a story of downfall of a girl of 19. She lost her innocence and had to pick-up the pieces scattered everywhere. In prison after crime, she spent many years to reconstruct her life. The story parallels perfectly with the fairy tale of Alice in Wonderland. The analogies from Wonderland are very real and true to Prisonland. The analogy of coming closer to God is the ultimate exciting climax of the story. Alice's downfall was the catalyst that lead her to her greatest victory, namely to hold God's hand forever. The reasoning in the book is powerful. The book reveals supreme insight by the author in the matter. The analogies and images the author describes are very real and true to the point.
The paragraph is an exerpt from a review on www.fanstory.com. Talk about your experience reading The Angel with Burnt Wings.
"I will be honest, it is the first story I read at Fanstory and I am so impressed from beginning to end. I just wanted to read every single word. So powerful. It is a mixed story; a beautiful one" (T. Bach).
4. Where does the story in the book take place?
The story plays off in the black hole of sexual abuse, prostitution, crime and punishment in Prisonland. Prisonland can be visualized as a grotto of vice and punishment. The real life events happened in South Africa, but the names of places and people have been changed to protect their identity.
5. Who are the main characters and why are they important in the story
The main player is Alice. The out of the ordinary things which happen to Alice in Wonderland made Wonderland a classic feature in many stories, films, plays and made Alice a beloved character with whom we mostly all, can identify with. The fairy tale, "Alice in Wonderland", by Lewis Carroll, which is public domain, formed an excellent trajectory to explore the in-depth meaning of a master's choice of events that take place in Wonderland. Carroll conveyed insight in the truths of humanity we all can learn from today.
It was a revelation to the author to interpret the curious events that happened to Alice in Wonderland, in a context of real prison life. Just like Alice in Wonderland, in real life, a person fights to access freedom we are all meant to have by right. The unrestricted means to fly and enter paradise become so real and easy in this powerful story of Alice in prison. You can live beyond the restriction of your physical, mental and spiritual bars when your forgiveness from God enables you to fly as an angel. The scars on Alice's wings are there to show the world that she had suffered deep sorrow, but was healed. This emphasises the fact that we need forgiveness and with its power we are enabled to fly free after incarceration and redemption.
6. Why does the author think the book will appeal to readers?
The author interprets freedom with supreme clarity and succintness. For open eyes, freedom has a familiar face. From a place of stark reality, a prison, Alice won her freedom. We though, are all imprisoned in the confines of our mind, even if it represents a guilded cage. Of course there are those of inner cages that have trapped us with fear, guilt and shame. Some of us never get passed that stage and we are stuck withour ghosts. With this book readers will find ways to earn their freedom. It is a promise.
7. Is there a particular passage from the book the author wishes to utilise?
" I had placed myself in an unbarred cage. I was cut off by nothing, yet I could not pass into a clean life. A desperate anger flushed my cheeks from time from time. I wanted to break the chains of all the limitations inside me. I suffered a crucial period of internal war and turmoil under loads of anguish and fear. I broke loose and decended straight into the iron age of my life when I was arrested and started life behind bars, iron bars. This was my final decent.
" My confusion about who I was when Iived in the black hole must have been like Alice's (Alice in Wonderland). I also wondered if anything would ever happen in a natural way again. I had so many selves, had lived so many sizes and played so many roles. Each self had a different role. I became somebody else in hiding the truth. I became "nothing" when I despised myself. I became violent and angry with flaming eyes when I drank the "poison of abuse". But at last, I became peaceful when I lay in God's hands outside the black hole."
8. What makes this book different from other books like it?
This book shows us how a life is broken up to the core and how it can be reconstructed to become whole again. The truths of a classic masterpiece, like Alice in Wonderland, form a trajectory on which the story is based. This amazingly underlines how the new book's Prisonland parallels with Wonderland. In a sense both stories draw from each other. The comparisons, analogies and images in the new book are both very real and to the point. The author also saw in the new book, the chance to reactivate the truths of the magical tale of Wonderland for young and old to a grown-up new audience.
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
Lies You Wanted to Hear
James Whitfield Thomson, 2013
Sourcebooks
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781402284281
Summary
Alone in an empty house, Lucy tries to imagine the lives of her two young children. They have been gone for seven years, and she is tormented by the role she played in that heartbreaking loss. You can hardly see a glimpse of the sexy, edgy woman she used to be. Back then, she was a magnet for men like Matt, who loved her beyond reason, and Griffin, who wouldn't let go but always left her wanting more. Now the lies they told and the choices they made have come to haunt all three of them.
With shattering turns, Lies You Wanted to Hear explores the way good people talk themselves into doing terrible, unthinkable things. What happens when we come to believe our own lies? And what price must we pay for our mistakes?
A searing story that will leave you wondering what choices you would make, Lies You Wanted to Hear is a stunning debut. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1946
• Where—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—B.A., Harvard University; Ph.D., University
of Pennsylvania
• Currently—lives in Natick, Massachusetts
Even as a young high school football player who caught the eye of college coaches, James W. Thomson realized that football wasn't truly in his future. Instead, a scholarship enabled him to pursue academics at Harvard, where he discovered his love of literature and art history.
After a two-year tour of duty in Vietnam as a Naval ship navigator, Thomson returned to school and completed his Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Following a discouraging stint in academia, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and joined a start-up company. He stayed with the firm for 13 years as it grew to 300 employees with offices from Los Angeles to London.
Eventually, to fulfill a life-time dream of becoming a writer, Thomson joined a workshop led by Andre Dubus, Jr., who taught him to devote time every day to writing. Three novels, a memoir and a dozen short stories later, Thomson can now call himself a writer. His work has earned him a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a number of his stories have appeared in literary quarterlies, with one winning a national short story contest.
Thomson lives with his wife Elizabeth in a Victorian fam house west of Boston. They have five adult children. (Adapted from the author's website.)
Book Reviews
Quite an achievement ... confident and eminently readable
New York Journal of Books
A spellbinding stunner of a debut ... Lies You Wanted to Hear is a novel of intensely lifelike characters and chilling choices and consequences that is utterly satisfying from start to finish.
Redbook Magazine
A remarkable, readable novel that's sure to provoke animated debate
Portland Daily Sun
[A] divorced father... kidnaps his two young children from their mother, whom he perceives to be unfit to raise them.... Matt assigns them new identities and lies to his kids about their mother before they take up a fugitive lifestyle. As time passes, the reader’s sympathies align more with Lucy, who is left heartsick over the loss of her kids, in Thomson’s well-told narrative of complex characters and their troubled families.
Publishers Weekly
Matt...falls into paranoia, convincing himself that [his wife] Lucy is a danger to her children and that he must take drastic actions to save them.... Lucy and Matt share with the reader the truths they never told each other. Verdict: This first novel...slowly builds momentum, ending with a satisfying twist on the theme of why good love can go bad and what redemption can cost. —Jan Blodgett, Davidson Coll. Lib., NC
Library Journal
[An] effective debut.... Thomson lays out the moral complexities underlying acrimonious divorces, taking care to make each side credible.
Booklist
First-time novelist Thomson explores the excruciating pain of a marriage gone wrong in this dreary tale stretched out over two decades.... Thomson writes in clear if pedestrian prose, shifting between Lucy and Matt, but unfortunately, the novel never transcends the dour particulars of its own he said, she said storytelling.... Relentlessly grim melodrama, in the vein of Ordinary People and Kramer vs. Kramer.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Lying is a key element of this novel. Who lies more, Matt or Lucy? What is the worst lie each of them tells? Do you think there is a difference between lying to someone and betraying them?
2. Was Matt justified in kidnapping his children? What do you think drove him over the edge? Does his essential character change once he has taken the kids?
3. Do you agree with Matt when he says that what he did was his “fate” and he had no other choice?
4. Lucy feels as if she can’t quite figure out how to be a good mother, yet she is unable to broach the subject even with her best friend, Jill. Do you think this a common feeling among women? Why do you think that a mother might find this topic difficult to talk about?
5. Is Lies You Wanted to Hear a tragedy? Why or why not?
6. Do the alternating first-person chapters from Matt and Lucy work in terms of storytelling? Do you think Matt’s voice is different from Lucy’s?
7. Lucy has a lot of failings both as a mother and a wife. What are the differences between how Matt sees her and how she sees herself? Is one character’s view more truthful or more insightful than the other?
8. After the confrontation in the bedroom with Lucy and Griffin, Matt says to Lucy, “I never had a chance, did I?” Did Lucy ever really try to make the marriage work? Does Matt bear responsibility for their breakup?
9. Why does Lucy keep going back to Griffin? Do you think Lucy belongs with Griffin? With Matt?
10. Did your feelings about Matt and Lucy shift during the novel? If yes, was there a particular moment that caused that shift?
11. Is it possible to compare one person’s grief to another’s? Do you think that most people measure and compare their losses to those of others?
12. Lucy’s lawyer suggests that it is inappropriate for Matt to take a shower with Sarah, who is almost five years old. Also, Matt often lets Sarah crawl into bed with him in the middle of the night. Is this cause for alarm? If this behavior is acceptable now, at what point should it change?
13. Why does Sara remain so fiercely loyal to her father when she learns the truth about her mother? What pulls Elliot in the opposite direction? Have you ever encountered a startling revelation in your own life or in that of someone you know that causes you to rethink your entire world?
14. Lucy quotes her mother as saying, “Any fool can be happy. The hard part is feeling like you matter.” What do you think about this statement?
15. How does Lucy’s journal-keeping influence her life?
16. How do Lucy’s relationships with other women define who she is and how we think about her?
17. Is there any validity in Matt’s contention that the court system is biased toward a mother? When adjudicating domestic disputes, does the legal system today give fair consideration to the rights of both parents?
18. Matt and Lucy were brought up in very different family situations. Did their upbringing lead them into making the choices they made?
19. The last thing Lucy says to Matt is, “I feel better now. I don’t have to hate you anymore.” But she doesn’t offer him forgiveness. Are there some acts that are simply unforgivable?
20. Did Lucy give up too quickly in trying to find her children? The children’s disappearance takes place before the age of the Internet. Would Lucy’s search be different today?
21. From the first date on, it is clear that Matt is more taken with Lucy than she is with him. Is itthe norm in most romantic relationships that one person falls more deeply in love than the other?
22. Can you think of times when you would rather have heard a lie than the truth? Are there lies you have told because you believed that was what someone wanted to hear?
23. After he takes the kids, Matt never forms a successful long-term relationship with a woman and doesn’t really seem to have any close male friends. Is this something that is an outgrowth of his need for secrecy, or is it more an outgrowth of his basic character? Would you say he is a man who understands himself and knows what he truly believes?
24. In the end, would you say Matt has been a good father or a bad one?
25. Did Lucy get what she deserved?
26. When talking about the difference between movies and films, Matt says, “Movies were entertainment, stories that made you laugh or cry and kept you on the edge of your seat. Films had meanings and subtitles, slow, tortuous stories with bleak endings or no ending at all.” He likes movies; Lucy likes films. Is this a common distinction between men and women? If Lies You Wanted to Hear were made into a motion picture, would it be a movie or a film?|
27. Years after her children have been gone, Lucy says, “People say, Don’t lose hope, miracles happen, as if hoping might have some bearing on the outcome. But hope can be such a cruel companion. Hope never lets you grieve and be done with it. Hope is the abuser you keep hoping will change.” Have you ever felt this way?
(Questions isssued by publisher.)
Angel Chronicles: Undercover Angels
Elliot Dylan, 2010
CreateSpace
372pp.
ISBN-13: 9781453640098
Summary
Conner Forrest is just your average middle school boy. He hangs out with his friend Sarah and obsesses over his favorite TV show. But all that changes when the clerk at the local soda shop tells him he is Conner's guardian angel.
Now Conner is on the road to becoming an Undercover Angel. With constant attacks from both friends and foes, will he be able to withstand the onslaught? Christian fiction that combines the excitement of action novels with Biblical character building lessons woven into the story. Great for readers from middle schoolers through adults. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—state of Kansas, USA
• Currently—lives in Kansas
Elliot is an novelist for Christian Youth. Elliot loves books and has always enjoyed writing. She feels a daily walk with God is important and wants to weave Bible studies into her books to encourage youth to read their Bibles and study God's Word daily.
Elliot is a college graduate with a digital imaging degree. She has two younger sisters who inspire her to write for youth.
When she's not writing her novels, she has a hobby creating art for her online comic-strip, "Subject to Change: College Woes," featuring spin-offs of her long-time friends who have gone off to Union and Southern Colleges, (without her!).
She also designs art for t-shirts and other products, featuring the crazy antics of the Subject to Change gang. (From the author's webpage.)
Book Reviews
I thought this novel was inspiring and thought-provoking. Undercover Angels put a desire in my heart to read more about what God calls us to do as Christians. Reading the author's thoughts about the armor of God gave me a new perspective on what kind of power God can have in our lives. This unique book shed a new light on my perspective of the spiritual realm. I was so impressed with the way the author describes the warfare between evil and good. Not only did this book open my mind to new ideas and opinions, but it also encouraged me as a Christian soldier to fight a better fight for the battle of righteousness.
Kayla Frishman
I thought this book might appeal only to a teenager but I really enjoyed it. I believe this author is filling a much-needed niche that hasn't been filled—that of Christian teen action-adventure. It's not one of those typical teen Christian fiction romance novels. In fact it's not about romance at all. It's a great book and I would recommend it for your middle to high school teens. I think boys would like it as much as girls because it has fantasy, action adventure, school, battles with armor and good and evil, and more. I'm going to be looking for this author to make an impact in the lives of Christian teens. The book is full of scripture quotes and shows teens making tough choices.
Nannette Thacker
Discussion Questions
1. When Conner found out he had been chosen to be part of the elite group of Undercover Angels he was excited. How would you react if your angel suddenly appeared and told you the same thing?
2. Sarah was pretty upset when Conner was selected to be a UA and she was not. How would you feel if your best friend was given a special position and you were not? How would you react?
3. William takes Conner and Sarah to see several Bible stories up close. If you could see any Bible story event which one would you want to see?
4. The story of creation is a grand and beautiful story of God's love. Why do you think God made each thing in the order He did during creation? If you could create anything from nothing like God did, what would you create?
5. If you had the Belt of Truth and could hear anyone's thoughts would you use the belt to help yourself or to help others? How could you use it to help others?
6. Conner and Sarah both thought the other had hurt them because of Adrian. If you were in the same situation how do you think you could have made the other believe it wasn't true? Have you ever been in a situation where you thought someone did something wrong and later found out it wasn't them? How did you handle it and how could you have handled it better?
7. Because of Sarah's jealousy she let Adrian's lies fool her into thinking she was the UA and Conner was part of Satan's Destructive Force. Have you ever let your jealousy fool you into thinking what you were doing was right? In the future how could you prevent that from happening?
8. To help him get good grades so he could raise the money for the convention Connor used the Helmet of Salvation to help him remember things. Why do you think Sarah got so mad at him? Do you think it was wrong for him to use it, and why?
9. With each piece of armor Conner gained a new ability such as walking on water and flying. What piece of armor would you want? What could you do with it to help others?
10. In the Bible David killed a man to hide his sin. Can you really hide your sins? Why or why not? If God knows everything can you really hide anything from Him?
11. Sarah and Conner were both hurt in different ways with the loss of Rafe. Have you ever lost anyone? How did you deal with it? How could you have dealt with it? What could Conner have done differently to deal with his anger over the loss?
12. Though Rafe hurt a lot of people during his time as Loki, in the end he realized he was wrong and sought forgiveness. Do you think God forgave him? Why or why not?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)
The Same Sweet Girls
Cassandra King, 2005
Hyperion
560 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780786891092
Summary
"None of the Same Sweet Girls are really girls anymore, and none of them have actually ever been that sweet. But the story of this spirited group of six southern women, who have been holding biannual reunions ever since they were together in college, is nothing short of compelling.
The story of the Same Sweet Girls is told by three of the women who suddenly face middle age and major life changes. First lady Julia Stovall, the perfect political wife, is torn between loyalty to her husband, the governor of Alabama, and an unwelcome attraction to his bodyguard. The fun-loving former jock Lanier Sanders, who always finds a way to mess up her life, has done it yet again. And Corrine Cooper, a renowned gourd artist, battles her controlling ex-husband for the affection of her estranged son.
On an island every summer and in the mountains every fall, the Same Sweet Girls come together to share their stories. When one of the group faces the most difficult challenge of her life, the novel builds to a powerful conclusion. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1944
• Where—Lower Alabama, USa
• Education—B.A., M.A., Alabama college
• Currently—lives in the Low Country, South Carolina
Cassandra King is the author of five novels, most recently the critically acclaimed Moonrise (2013), her literary homage to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Moonrise is a Fall 2013 Okra Pick and a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) bestseller. It has been described as “her finest book to date.”
Fellow Southern writers Sandra Brown, Fannie Flagg, and Dorothea Benton Frank hailed her previous novel, Queen of Broken Hearts (2008), as “wonderful,” “uplifting,” “absolutely fabulous,” and “filled with irresistible characters.” Prior to that, King’s third book, The Same Sweet Girls (2005), was a #1 Booksense Selection and Booksense bestseller, a Southeastern Bookseller Association bestseller, a New York Post Required Reading selection, and a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month Club selection.
Her first novel, Making Waves in Zion, was published in 1995 by River City Press and reissued in 2004 by Hyperion. Her second novel, The Sunday Wife (2002), was a Booksense Pick, a People Magazine Page-Turner of the Week, a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month selection, a Books-a-Million President’s Pick, a South Carolina State Readers’ Circle selection, and a Salt Lake Library Readers’ Choice Award nominee. In paperback, the novel was chosen by the Nestle Corporation for its campaign to promote reading groups.
King’s short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Callaloo, Alabama Bound: The Stories of a State (1995), Belles’ Letters: Contemporary Fiction by Alabama Women (1999), Stories From Where We Live (2002), and Stories From The Blue Moon Cafe (2004). Aside from writing fiction, she has taught writing on the college level, conducted corporate writing seminars, worked as a human-interest reporter for a Pelham, Alabama, weekly paper, and published an article on her second-favorite pastime, cooking, in Cooking Light magazine.
A native of L.A. (Lower Alabama), King currents lives in the Low Country of South Carolina with her husband, novelist Pat Conroy, whom she met when he wrote a blurb for Making Waves. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
For 30 years, six Southern college friends—the Same Sweet Girls—have been gathering for a biannual reunion. As King's wry, touching novel begins, the girls are nearing 50 and coming to terms with the life decisions they've made.... [T]he story's gentle Southern humor and warmth shine. It isn't all iced tea and tomato pie—King tackles some troubling issues—but the characters are true to life, and readers will sympathize with their struggles.
Publishers Weekly
Discussion Questions
1. Look at the Walt Whitman quote at the beginning of The Same Sweet Girls. Why does King use this here?
2. Why does Corrine state early on that, "The illusion of sweetness, that's all that counts. We don't have to be sincerely sweet, but by God we have to be good at faking it. Southern girls will stab you in the back, same as anyone else, but we'll give you a sugary smile while doing it"? Why is this important to the story? How do Southern women differ from women in other parts of the country?
3. Looking at each chapter, how is the book structured? Why does King utilize this style here? What is the affect of multiple narrators?
4. Briefly describe each of the Same Sweet Girls. Share your impression of the group. Who do you like the most, and why? What are their backgrounds? How did they become a group, and why are they such good friends?
5. Consider Miles, Jesse Phoenix, Joe Ed, Paul and Cal. What are your impressions of these men? What are their roles in the story?
6. Thinking about the couplings of Julia and Joe Ed, Corrine and Miles, and Lanier and Paul, how did these couples get together? What kind of relationships do these Same Sweet Girls have with the men in their lives? What do these relationships reveal, or possibly reflect, about the Same Sweet Girls views of themselves?
7. Focusing on Astor’s and Roseanelle’s role in the book. Why are these unlikely characters accepted and tolerated, even loved, by the rest of the group? How do they influence other characters in the book? Why do others accept and even ignore such obvious flaws in their friends?
8. Lanier keeps a sort of diary, what she calls her Life Lessons notebook. Think about some of Lanier's notebook entries. For example, "Any landing you walk away from is a good landing;" "When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears;" "Seems to me that all males are obsessed with expanding their bodies and females with shrinking theirs, which must have something to do with their self-images." Discuss what they mean and whether or not they are helpful to you.
9. In Chapter 12, what do you make of Julia's saying she "survived life by slow paddling down the river of denial"? What has she been denying? Recount her relationship with her mother. What was her mother's reaction when Bethany was born? Did Julia somehow agree with her mother? How does Julia evolve, and what enables her to do so?
10. Looking at Corrine, what do the gourds represent, both literally and figuratively? Why does King choose gourds instead of canvas or pottery for Corrine's art? Trace Corrine's personal history. Why is she the one who has a terminal disease? What does Miles mean when he says to her, "Your biography becomes your biology?" Is this true in her case? Do you believe this is true in general? Why?
11. What gives Corrine the motivation to stand up to Miles? Share how you reacted when she finally does.
12. In Chapter 18, Lindy confronts Lanier about Lanier's affect on her and others: "Then change, Mama . . ." How did you react do this speech? What would you say to Lindy? What would you say to Lanier?
13. In Chapter 23, there is a discussion of helping a friend die. What would you do if a friend or family member asked you to assist their death? Would you want that kind of help? Knowing what Corrine does about her disease, what you advise her to do about her treatment? Why is Lanier so surprised when she learns Paul might assist someone's death?
14. Why is Cal so attracted to Corrine? What is significant about the timing of his interest? What is the significance of the large kettle gourd that he returns to her? What enables his aged grandmother to understand the purpose of this kettle gourd? Discuss the paragraph in Chapter 26 where Cal says to Corrine, "Damn right you're not like me . . . You've got to finish that one."
15. What resonates, and affects you the most, about The Same Sweet Girls? What stays with you?
(Questions from the author's website.)
The Sunday Wife
Cassandra King, 2002
Hyperion
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780786890705
Summary
A captivating novel about one woman's journey toward independence and the life-changing friendship that guides her there.
Married for 20 years to the Reverend Benjamin Lynch, a handsome, ambitious minister of the prestigious Methodist church, Dean Lynch has never quite adjusted her temperament to the demands of the role of a Sunday wife. When her husband is assigned to a larger and more demanding community in the Florida panhandle, Dean becomes fast friends with Augusta Holderfield, a woman whose good looks and extravagant habits immediately entrance her. As their friendship evolves, Augusta challenges Dean to break free from her traditional role as the preacher's wife.
Just as Dean is questioning everything she has always valued, a tragedy occurs, providing the catalyst for change in ways she never could have imagined. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1944
• Where—Lower Alabama, USa
• Education—B.A., M.A., Alabama college
• Currently—lives in the Low Country, South Carolina
Cassandra King is the author of five novels, most recently the critically acclaimed Moonrise (2013), her literary homage to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Moonrise is a Fall 2013 Okra Pick and a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) bestseller. It has been described as “her finest book to date.”
Fellow Southern writers Sandra Brown, Fannie Flagg, and Dorothea Benton Frank hailed her previous novel, Queen of Broken Hearts (2008), as “wonderful,” “uplifting,” “absolutely fabulous,” and “filled with irresistible characters.” Prior to that, King’s third book, The Same Sweet Girls (2005), was a #1 Booksense Selection and Booksense bestseller, a Southeastern Bookseller Association bestseller, a New York Post Required Reading selection, and a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month Club selection.
Her first novel, Making Waves in Zion, was published in 1995 by River City Press and reissued in 2004 by Hyperion. Her second novel, The Sunday Wife (2002), was a Booksense Pick, a People Magazine Page-Turner of the Week, a Literary Guild Book-of-the-Month selection, a Books-a-Million President’s Pick, a South Carolina State Readers’ Circle selection, and a Salt Lake Library Readers’ Choice Award nominee. In paperback, the novel was chosen by the Nestle Corporation for its campaign to promote reading groups.
King’s short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Callaloo, Alabama Bound: The Stories of a State (1995), Belles’ Letters: Contemporary Fiction by Alabama Women (1999), Stories From Where We Live (2002), and Stories From The Blue Moon Cafe (2004). Aside from writing fiction, she has taught writing on the college level, conducted corporate writing seminars, worked as a human-interest reporter for a Pelham, Alabama, weekly paper, and published an article on her second-favorite pastime, cooking, in Cooking Light magazine.
A native of L.A. (Lower Alabama), King currents lives in the Low Country of South Carolina with her husband, novelist Pat Conroy, whom she met when he wrote a blurb for Making Waves. (From the author's website.)
Book Reviews
Rich [and] satisfying.
People
An intelligent, witty novel, skillfully written.
Boston Globe
Delivers haunting messages about the nature of love, freedom and forgiveness.
Orlando Sentinel
Joining a distinguished tradition of southern women writers, King explores the complexities of class and sexism
Birmingham News
The dilemma facing women [The role of wife? Can it be filled without losing yourself?]...is what made it real.
Jackson Clarion Ledger
Shines without turning into a sermon.
Florida International Magazine
Finely drawn characters and complicated social intrigue make Kings second novel a charming read. .... Orphaned as a child, the retiring Dean has spent 20 years of marriage in the shadow of her overbearing, charismatic husband, always feeling out of place..... King has written a truly heartwarming story, a tale of turbulent emotions and the vagaries of public opinion in a small Southern town; she has a sure winner here.
Publishers Weekly
(Audio version.) American version of the British novelist Barbara Pym's writing: a portrait of the well-intentioned but power-hungry preacher with his mismatched mate.... But on the third tape, ...we are left listening to a generic and unremarkable romance novel, predicting most events before reader Joan Allen mentions them.... This is ultimately a frustrating novel (at least in this abridged version).
Library Journal
Discussion Questions
1. What is a Sunday wife? What makes a "good" one? Consider whether or not Dean fits the bill, and explain your reasoning.
2. How does the prologue introduce you to the book's themes?
3. Who is the narrator and is this narrator reliable? Explore what the book would have been like if Ben had been the narrator. Consider how the story would unfold if one of the other characters were narrating.
4. What is the role of religion in The Sunday Wife? How does it frame—or anchor—the story? Share who you believe holds the book's moral center, and why?
5. Discuss the different social issues and dilemmas that King weaves throughout—like same-sex marriage, psychic healing, book banning and adultery—and examine why she uses them to tell this story.
6. Were you surprised at Dean's early admission that she and Ben don't share a bedroom? What kind of relationship does this lead you to believe that they have? Looking at Ben and Dean's exchange on pages 112-113, what kind of person is Dean with her husband?
7. When Dean succeeds in cultivating a friendship with Augusta and Maddox, why isn't Ben ecstatic? Explore whether or not Augusta causes a rift between Ben and Dean. Is Dean and Ben's relationship already coming apart? Why does Augusta tell Dean, "You're not the woman you appear to be"? (page 116)
8. How are Dean and Augusta alike? What are your impressions of them? Thinking about Ben and Maddox, discuss their similarities and differences and what kind of men you think they are, and why.
9. Look at the name choices and the character traits the names imply. How do names influence the reader's perception of the characters?
10. On page 61, Dean and Augusta talk about fate vs. determination and choice. Share whether or not you believe, as Augusta does, that there are unseen forces that determine our fate. Why? How do Augusta's beliefs fit with what happens in her life?
11. Explore the turmoil Rich and Godwin's union causes the community. Why is Ben so upset about Rich and Godwin's union? Why was he so unsympathetic about Dean being attacked? What would you say to him if you were Dean?
12. Why does Augusta's affair with John Marcus Vickery upset Dean so much? Why does Dean say to Augusta, "You've got a child now. Do you want someone taking advantage of Gus like that?" Is this a valid argument? On page 249, Augusta says she has a "trump card." What did you think she was talking about when she said this? What does the trump card turn out to be?
13. Discuss the conversation between Dean and Vickery that begins on page 237. Do you think Vickery is being honest—or flirtatious? Why are so many people drawn to Vickery, and to Ben? On page 239, Vickery says to Dean, "Ben is going to lose you." Why would he presume to say so? Do you think Dean had any notion of leaving Ben at this point?
14. What, if any, is the symbolism of Augusta going over the Crystal River Bridge? (page 260) How do you react to Dean's not even thinking of Ben during the morning after Augusta dies? Do you feel sorry for Vickery not having anyone to grieve with? Did he really love Augusta?
15. Would you have given Augusta's note to her husband or hidden from him it like Dean did? Discuss why Dean does this and whether or not she was protecting Maddox. What are the consequences of Dean's actions? Why does Maddox get so angry when he finally reads the letter?
(Questions from author's website.)