Innocent
Scott Turow, 2010
Grand Central Publishing
406 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780446562423
Summary
The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark bestseller Presumed Innocent, Turow continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, once again, twenty years later, pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match after the mysterious death of Rusty's wife. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—April 12, 1949
• Where—Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Education—B.A., Amherst; M.A. Stanford University; J.D.,
Harvard University
• Awards—Silver Dagger of British Crime Writers
• Currently—lives in Chicago, Illinois
Scott F. Turow is an American author and practicing lawyer, who has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books. His works have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies. Movies have been based on several of his books.
Turow was born in Chicago, attended New Trier High School, and graduated from Amherst College in 1970. He received an Edith Mirrielees Fellowship to the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, where he attended from 1970 to 1972. In 1971, he married Annette Weisberg, a painter.
Scott Turow became a Jones Lecturer at Stanford until 1975, when he entered Harvard Law School. In 1977, Turow wrote One L, a book about his first year at law school.
After earning his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1978, Turow became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, serving in that position until 1986. There he prosecuted several high-profile corruption cases, including the tax fraud case of state Attorney General William Scott. Turow also was lead counsel in Operation Greylord, the federal prosecution of Illinois judicial corruption cases.
Writing
After leaving the U.S. Attorney's office, Turow became a novelist, writing legal thrillers such as The Burden of Proof, Presumed Innocent, Pleading Guilty, and Personal Injuries, which Time magazine named as the Best Fiction Novel of 1999. All four became bestsellers, and Turow won multiple literary awards, most notably the Silver Dagger Award of the British Crime Writers.
Many of the characters appear in multiple books, and all of his novels take place in Kindle County. (The state is unspecified, but the county contains a tri-city conglomerate on the Mississippi between Chicago and New Orleans. —Burden of Proof p. 52.) In 1990, Turow was featured on the June 11 cover of Time, which described him as the "Bard of the Litigious Age." In 1995, Canadian author Derek Lundy published a biography of Turow, entitled Scott Turow: Meeting the Enemy (ECW Press, 1995). Also, in the 1990s a British publisher bracketed Turow’s work with that of Margaret Atwood and John Irving, republishing it in the series Bloomsbury Modern Library.
Turow is the president of the Authors Guild. He was also President from 1997 to 1998 and has served on its board.
From 1997 to 1998 Turow was a member of the U.S. Senate Nominations Commission for the Northern District of Illinois, which recommends federal judicial appointments.
Current legal work
Turow is a partner of the Chicago law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal. He works pro bono in most of his cases, including a 1995 case where he won the release of Alejandro Hernandez, who had spent 11 years on death row for a murder he did not commit. He was also appointed to the commission considering the reform of the Illinois death penalty by former Governor George Ryan and is currently a member of the Illinois State Police Merit Board. He and his wife Annette divorced in late 2008 with three grown children. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
[Turow's] intimate understanding of his characters and his authoritative knowledge of the legal world inject the narrative with emotional fuel, creating suspense that has less to do with the actual twists and turns of the plot than with our interest in what will happen to these people and how they will behave under pressure…Rusty's second trial—which takes up the better half of this novel—proves to be just as suspenseful and gripping as his first.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times
In Innocent, [Turow's] exploring the many ways in which, time after time, we fail to under stand ourselves, in which we miss or misinterpret the evidence that could tell us who we are. "If we are always a mystery to ourselves," Anna asks at the end of Sabich's latest ordeal, "then what is the chance of fully understanding anybody else?" That's a novelist's question as much as it is a lawyer's…Innocent is a meticulously constructed and superbly paced mystery…a lovely novel, gripping and darkly self-reflective.
Terrence Rafferty - New York Times Book Review
There are enough surprises...to keep the reader's attention fixed—Turow has always been very good at that—but as usual in his fiction there's more than skillful legal drama. Turow is a serious man who has thought long and carefully about the law. He understands that in the end it is not really much better than any other mechanism at uncovering absolute truth; that the courtroom is a roll of the dice…that life itself is a crapshoot…All of which makes for an intelligent, thoughtful novel: a grownup book for grownup readers.
Jonathan Yardley - Washington Post
Mesmerizing prose and intricate plotting lift Turow's superlative legal thriller, his best novel since his bestselling debut, Presumed Innocent, to which this is a sequel. In 2008, 22 years after the events of the earlier book, former lawyer Rusty Sabich, now a Kindle County, Ill., chief appellate judge, is again suspected of murdering a woman close to him. His wife, Barbara, has died in her bed of what appear to be natural causes, yet Rusty comes under scrutiny from his old nemesis, acting prosecuting attorney Tommy Molto, who unsuccessfully prosecuted him for killing his mistress decades earlier. Tommy's chief deputy, Jim Brand, is suspicious because Rusty chose to keep Barbara's death a secret, even from their son, Nat, for almost an entire day, which could have allowed traces of poison to disappear. Rusty's candidacy for a higher court in an imminent election; his recent clandestine affair with his attractive law clerk, Anna Vostic; and a breach of judicial ethics complicate matters further. Once again, Turow displays an uncanny ability for making the passions and contradictions of his main characters accessible and understandable.
Publishers Weekly
It took Turow more than 20 years to bring us the sequel to his best-selling first novel, Presumed Innocent, and it was worth the wait. Now 60 and long after being acquitted of murdering his mistress, Rusty Sabich has become chief judge of the Kindle County, IL, appellate court and is running for the state supreme court. When his wife dies in her sleep, Sabich waits 24 hours before calling his son or anyone else, setting off suspicions of foul play with his old nemesis, acting prosecutor Tommy Molto. The coroner determines she died of natural causes, but Molto and his chief deputy, Brand, quietly start building a case, convinced Sabich is trying to get away with murder again. Verdict: This is a beautifully written book with finely drawn characters and an intricate plot seamlessly weaving a troubled family story with a murder. Drawing the reader in and not letting go until the last page, Turow's legal thriller is a most worthy successor to Presumed Innocent and perhaps the author's finest work to date. —Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL
Library Journal
Though at least one other lawyer turned author has subsequently achieved greater commercial success, Turow remains the master of the form, at least partly because he's more fascinated by the mysteries of the human heart than he is by the intricacies of the law. Here, suspense and discovery sustain the narrative momentum until the final pages, but character trumps plot in Innocent. The ironic title underscores the huge gap between innocence as a moral state of grace and "not guilty" as a courtroom verdict. Once again, Turow's novel pits Rusty Sabich against Tommy Molto, former colleagues turned adversaries, with the former now chief judge of the appellate court and the latter as prosecuting attorney. Sabich remains more complicated and morally compromised, while Molto is much more certain of right and wrong. Exonerated in a murder trial 20 years ago, but his innocence never completely established, Sabich finds himself once again under suspicion after the sudden death of his mentally unstable, heavily medicated wife. As in the first novel, Sabich suffers the guilt of infidelity, but does this make him guilty of the murder Molto becomes convinced the judge has committed? Complicating the issue are the judge's only son, more of a legal scholar than his father though with some of his mother's emotional instability, and the whirlwind romance between the junior Sabich and the former clerk for the senior Sabich. To reveal more would undermine the reader's own pleasure of discovery, but the judge, whether guilty or not, might prefer prison to the revelation of crucial secrets. "How do we ever know what's in someone else's heart or mind?" the novel asks. "If we are always a mystery to ourselves, then what is the chance of fully understanding anybody else?" The various perspectives—with some characters knowing more than the reader does, while the reader knows more than others—contribute to an exquisite tension that drives the narrative. Where the title of the first novel may have presumed innocence, the sequel knows that we're all guilty of something.
Kirkus Reviews
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 Innocent:
1. What is the significance of the book's title, ostensibly the legal term for someone found "not guilty"? In what way is it ironic, suggesting a philosophical, moral question?
2. Author Scott Turow uses an unusual structure for this novel, moving back and forth between time frames and viewpoints. Why might he have used this technique rather than a straightforward narrative? Did the novel's structure enhance or detract from your enjoyment?
3. Have you read Presumed Innocent, the "prequel" to this novel? If so, how do the two compare? Is it important to have read the previous book? Why or why not?
4. Follow-up to Question 3: If you haven't read Presumed Innocent, was it hard to come up to speed on this novel? Having finished Innocent—and looking back—would it have made a difference if you had read the first book? If so...in what way? Will you read PI now? Why or why not?
5. How would you describe Rusty Sabitch? What kind of a man is he? Has he learned from his past mistakes?
6. What is Rusty's wife Barbara like? Why have the two stayed married all these years?
7. Author Turow seems as interested in penetrating the mysteries of marriage and the human heart as he is the ins-and-outs of the legal system. What issues does he raise about how two people operate within a marriage? What do we come to learn about Barbara and Rusty's marriage? Do you see parallels to your own relationships?
8. What about Anna Vostic? First of all, will older men ever find age-appropriate women? Or is the answer to that "In your dreams, sweetheart"?
9. Back to Anna: what kind of person is she...and why does she end up in an affair with Rusty's son? Talk about those complications.
10. What about Nat? Is he a sympathetic character or not? Good boyfriend material...good son material?
11. What drives the prosecutorial team—Tommy Molto and Jim Brand? Why is Brand so eager to convict Rusty Sabitch? What evidence does the prosecution have against Rusty? Is it particularly strong?
12. Much of the book is a courtroom drama. Did you enjoy the pyrotechnics between prosecutors and defense attorneys?
13. How does Rusty's secret drive, or shape, his own defense?
14. Does this book deliver? Were you surprised by the various plot twists? Going back over the book, can you pick out where Turow purposely withholds information—then reveals it—to keep readers wondering?
15. What insights does this book offer—or issues does it raise—regarding the country's (or a state's) legal system ?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
The Chronicles of Narnia (The complete series)
C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (Illus.) 1951-56
HarperCollins
768 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780066238500
Summary
Journeys to the end of the world, fantastic creatures and epic battles between good and evil—the book that has it all is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, written in 1949 by C. S. Lewis. But Lewis did not stop there. Six more books followed, and together they became known as The Chronicles of Narnia.
For over fifty years, The Chronicles of Narnia have transcended the fantasy genre to become part of the canon of classic literature. Each of the seven books is a masterpiece, drawing the reader into a land where magic meets reality, and the result is a fictional world whose scope has fascinated generations.
This edition presents all seven books—unabridged—in one impressive volume. (From the publisher.)
Synopses of each volume in the series are under the "Book Reviews" section..
Author Bio
• Birth—November 29, 1898
• Where—Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
• Death—November 22, 1963
• Where—Headington, England
• Education—Oxford University
• Awards—Fellow, British Academy; Carnegie Medal for The
Last Battle
C. S. Lewis was famous both as a fiction writer and as a Christian thinker, and his biographers and critics sometimes divide his personality in two: the storyteller and the moral educator, the "dreamer" and the "mentor." Yet a large part of Lewis's appeal, for both his audiences, lay in his ability to fuse imagination with instruction. "Let the pictures tell you their own moral," he once advised writers of children's stories. "But if they don't show you any moral, don't put one in. ... The only moral that is of any value is that which arises inevitably from the whole cast of the author's mind."
Storytelling came naturally to Lewis, who spent the rainy days of his childhood in Ireland writing about an imaginary world he called Boxen. His first published novel, Out of the Silent Planet, tells the story of a journey to Mars; its hero was loosely modeled on his friend and fellow Cambridge scholar J.R.R. Tolkien. Lewis enjoyed some popularity for his Space Trilogy (which continues in Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), but nothing compared to that which greeted his next imaginative journey, to an invented world of fauns, dwarfs, and talking animals—a world now familiar to millions of readers as Narnia.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book of the seven-volume Chronicles of Narnia, began as "a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood," according to Lewis. Years after that image first formed in his mind, others bubbled up to join it, producing what Kate Jackson, writing in Salon, called "a fascinating attempt to compress an almost druidic reverence for wild nature, Arthurian romance, Germanic folklore, the courtly poetry of Renaissance England and the fantastic beasts of Greek and Norse mythology into an entirely reimagined version of what's tritely called 'the greatest story ever told.'"
The Chronicles of Narnia was for decades the world's bestselling fantasy series for children. Although it was eventually superseded by Harry Potter, the series still holds a firm place in children's literature and the culture at large. (Narnia even crops up as a motif in Jonathan Franzen's 2001 novel The Corrections). Its last volume appeared in 1955; in that same year, Lewis published a personal account of his religious conversion in Surprised by Joy. The autobiography joined his other nonfiction books, including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce, as an exploration of faith, joy and the meaning of human existence.
Lewis's final work of fiction, Till We Have Faces, came out in 1956. Its chilly critical reception and poor early sales disappointed Lewis, but the book's reputation has slowly grown; Lionel Adey called it the "wisest and best" of Lewis's stories for adults. Lewis continued to write about Christianity, as well as literature and literary criticism, for several more years. After his death in 1963, The New Yorker opined, "If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites to passage through the pearly gates, Mr. Lewis will be among the angels."
Extras
• The imposing wardrobe Lewis and his brother played in as children is now in Wheaton, Illinois, at the Wade Center of Wheaton College, which also houses the world's largest collection of Lewis-related documents, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
• The 1994 movie, Shadowlands, based on the play of the same name, cast Anthony Hopkins as Lewis. It tells the story of his friendship with, and then marriage to, an American divorcee named Joy Davidman (played by Debra Winger), who died of cancer four years after their marriage. Lewis's own book about coping with that loss, A Grief Observed, was initially published under the pseudonym N. W. Clerk.
• Several poems, stories, and a novel fragment published after Lewis's death have come under scrutiny as possible forgeries. On one side of the controversy is Walter Hooper, a trustee of Lewis's estate and editor of most of his posthumous works; on the other is Kathryn Lindskoog, a Lewis scholar who began publicizing her suspicions in 1988. Scandal or kooky conspiracy theory? The verdict's still out among readers. (From Barnes & Noble.)
About the Illustrator
Pauline Baynes is the illustrator of the original editions of The Chronicles of Narnia and recently added color to her beautiful illustrations. She was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal in recognition of her contributions to children's literature. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
Below are brief overviews of each book in the Narnia series.
The Magician's Nephew (1955)
Although written five years after The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this book is acutally the first in the series—tracing the very beginnings of Narnia—how Aslan created the world and how evil first entered it. Digory Kirke and his friend Polly Plummer stumble into different worlds by experimenting with magic rings made by Digory's uncle (the "magician"). They encounter Jadis (The White Witch), and witness the creation of Narnia. Many long-standing questions about Narnia are answered in this adventure.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
Four ordinary children—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke's house that leads to the magical land of Narnia. Narnia has been under the spell of the evil White Witch for 100 years and in a perpetual state of winter. The four children fulfill an ancient, mysterious prophecy—helping the lion Aslan and his army save Narnia from the witch.
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia (1951)
The Pevensie children return to Narnia, drawn back by Prince Caspian, who blows on Susan's horn to summon help in his hour of need. Caspian, Narnia's rightful ruler, has fled into the woods to escape his uncle, Miraz, who had usurped the throne. The children set out once again to save Narnia. Aided by other Narnians, and ultimately by Aslan, they return the throne to Caspian. (From Wikipedia.)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
Edmund and Lucy Pevensie , along with their priggish cousin, Eustace Scrubb, return to Narnia. Once there, they join Caspian's voyage to find the seven lords who were banished when Miraz took over the throne. This perilous journey brings them face to face with many wonders and dangers as they sail toward Aslan's country at the end of the world.
The Silver Chair (1953)
This is the first Narnia book without the Pevensie children. In their place, Aslan calls their cousin, Eustace Scrubb, back to Narnia together with his classmate Jill Pole. There they are given four signs to find Prince Rilian, Caspian's son, who had been kidnapped ten years earlier. Eustace and Jill, with the help of Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, and many others, face great danger before finding Rilian. Rilian, though, has lost his memory due to an enchantment by a silver chair.
The Horse and His Boy (1954)
This is the first of the books that does not follow the previous one sequentially. The novel takes place during the reign of the Pevensies in Narnia, an era which begins and ends in the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Bree, a talking horse, and a young boy named Shasta have been held in bondage in Calormen, a country to the south of Narnia. The two meet by chance and plan their return to Narnia and freedom. Discovering on their journey that the Calormenes plan to invade Archenland, they race to alert Archenland's King.
The Last Battle (1956)
The Last Battle chronicles the end of the world of Narnia. Jill and Eustace return to save Narnia from Shift, an ape, who tricks Puzzle, a donkey, into impersonating the lion Aslan. This problem causes a fierce battle between the Calormenes and King Tirian together with Jill, Eustace and a faithful dwarf. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Club Discussion Questions
• The Magician's Wardrobe
1. Many of Narnia's fantastical creatures are personified; name some of them. Which human qualities are most celebrated? Which are not?
2. Elements of fantasy and real life are intermingled in the worlds of Charn and Narnia. What are some characteristics of each world that exemplify this combination? What makes these worlds so different from each other?
3. Although they are children, both Polly and Digory have very distinct personalities. By portraying Polly and Digory the way he did, what message(s) might Lewis have been sending to children about stereotypical and nonstereotypical behavior?
4. Since Uncle Andrew and the Witch are both proponents of magic, ostensibly it is portrayed in a bad light. How is magic celebrated?
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
1. Each of the children undergoes some changes throughout the course of the novel. Discuss how these changes impact their characters. How does sibling interaction shape both them and the plot?
2. Symbolism is quite prevalent in this book. Discuss what Narnia and Aslan symbolize and how their portrayals shape Lewis's message. Who or what else is symbolic? How?
3. In agreeing to sacrifice himself in Edmund's place without divulging to the White Witch that he could return, Aslan might be considered somewhat deceitful. What other variances are there on the traditional definitions of good and evil?
4. When Lucy tries to minister to her wounded brother, Aslan hurries her along to tend to others. Does the theme of the greater good vs. the individual arise elsewhere in the story? What other themes arise?
• The Horse and His Boy
1. At first glance, Bree and Hwin fit into very conservative gender roles. Which of their actions demonstrate a break from these behaviors? How does each of them demonstrate their goodness? What flaws does each possess?
2. With a reliance on material goods Lasaraleen provides a sharp contrast to Aravis. What are some of Lasaraleen's admirable qualities? Do you think Aravis and Susan should be considered strong female role models? Why or why not 2.?
3. Shasta undergoes a metamorphosis of character and identity. How do various factors or characters cause or help him to change? What truths about human nature are revealed in the process? What is Aslan's role?
4. Loyalty, tolerance, idealism, materialism, and parental roles all play roles in this book. Are these subjects always treated favorably? Do you agree with these treatments?
• Prince Caspian
1. Contrast the Narnia of this story with that over which the children ruled. How does the Narnian passage of time impact the novel?
2. Prince Caspian befriends many Narnian creatures. Which two Old Narnians would you want as royal subjects? Why?
3. What might have been the purpose of including Bacchus in this story? What other mythological or symbolic characters appear? Why?
4. Why is it that Aslan is only visible to Lucy for so long? Does Lucy's faith in Aslan differ from that of the others?
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
1. Eustace's character changes drastically, though not completely. What vestiges of his old self remain, and what new qualities emerge?
2. Each of the islands seems to contain some negative aspect. How do the portrayals of the islands illustrate which qualities should be most eschewed? Are any of the islands' qualities portrayed favorably?
3. Though Reepicheep is a comical character, he is also brave. How is his bravery characterized? How does he differ from other characters?
4. What kind of king is Caspian? What does his willingness to stay behind at the End of the World say about his leadership? Contrast Caspian's behavior with Lord Drinian's.
• The Silver Chair
1. Much of the novel is spent in bleaker lands than Narnia. Other than physical characteristics, what are some differences? Are any of the inhabitants at all similar to Narnians?
2. How do Puddleglum's actions contrast with his attitudes? Does he do anything surprising? Can he be characterized as a hero? Can Jill or Eustace, given their behavior?
3. Jill and Eustace are misled by the appearance of the Queen of Underland and the festival at Harfang. At what other times are they deceived by appearances?
• The Last Battle
1. Though Puzzle helps Shift further his evil plans, he is easily forgiven. Does the outcome differ for those who act on their own conscience instead of following the orders of others? What judgments does the book render on faith, leadership, and human behavior?
2. Beloved Narnia is demolished both by creatures and larger forces. Does the existence of a better, truer Narnia temper this apocalyptic phase?
3. Of which ideals of the afterlife is this book a proponent? Do these ideals mesh with your own vision?
(All discussion questions issued by publisher.)
top of pag e (summary)
The Houseguest
Agnes Rossi, 2000
Penguin Group USA
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780452281974
Summary
The year is 1934 and Edward Devlin, recently widowed and a disillusioned veteran of Ireland's struggle for independence, leaves his small daughter, Maura, behind in Ireland and heads for America with not much more than his memories and a lingering desire for his beautiful dead wife. His one tenuous connection is to a man named Fitzgibbon, owner of a silk-dyeing mill in Paterson, New Jersey. Fitz greets his fellow Irishman with hospitality, inviting Edward into his home and, ultimately, setting up a chain of events that will cause Fitz to lose everything and Edward to gain all he dared not hope for.
Moving from a small town in the north of Ireland to Depression-era Paterson to the New Jersey Shore, The Houseguest is an eloquent and morally complex novel that perfectly captures the rhythms of grief, hope, and humor that are indelible parts of the Irish-American experience. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—1959
• Where—Paterson, New Jersey, USA
• Education—B.A., Rutgers University; M.F.A., New York
University
• Currently—N/A
Agnes Rossi is the author of the 1992 story collection, The Quick, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and the 1994 novel, Split Skirt. She was a finalist for the 1996 Granta Best of Young Novelists Award. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
[T]he book's moral sensibility has been dragged by the facts into [an] impasse, and we are left with a lingering distaste for the supposedly romantic characters on whom we have expended our interest. Rossi...is to be praised for her vivid descriptions and creation of at least one achingly real character, but her novel's moral and historical compasses waver too often to bring us to the heart of its story.
Lucy Ferriss - New York Times Book Review
Rossi, a compelling stylist...looks at how tragedies can sever our connection to life.
New York Daily News
A rich novel of Irish immigration and personal loss.... Discursive, quiet, thoughtful, lovely at times, and delicately put together, like a whispered conversation in a church, at a high requiem, when mourning and longing come together to color the world with a vibrant brand of melancholy, that Irish sadness that never resides far from beauty.
Elle
Based loosely on pivotal events in the life of author Rossi's mother, this tale of loss, displacement and new beginnings is set in 1930s Ireland and Paterson, N.J. The novel opens with a tragic scene in Ireland: young Maura learns that her mother has died of tuberculosis, and that her father is leaving her with Irish relatives who don't want her, while he returns to America, where Maura grew up. Edward Devlin, shattered ex-revolutionary, deposits his daughter in the care of two ill-tempered aunts, Sadie and Bell, and settles into Paterson, hoping that an old acquaintance, "Fitz" Fitzgibbon, can help him find work in a woefully depressed economy. Fitz, now a silk tycoon and local celebrity, finds an engineering job for Edward, and invites him to live in the home he shares with his young wife, Sylvia. Edward ends up staying with the Fitzgibbons for nearly a year, moving into his own apartment only after he has an affair with Sylvia. Back in Ireland, Maura is sent to a strict Catholic boarding school where she is allowed to speak only Irish. Rossi interpolates updates on Maura's world into the larger drama of Edward's relations with the Fitzgibbons, as all of their lives head for a drastic change. Despite Rossi's (Split Skirt; The Quick) skillful prose and heartrending plot, this is a surprisingly dispassionate tale, with the cast of characters kept at arm's distance even as their flaws and hopes are rendered with painstaking care. Edward's mostly selfish actions alternate with his hazy regrets and a grief made even more vague with drink; and Maura's chilly ambivalence seems fitting, as she's living in limbo, hoping to be reunited with her father. The main characters' desperate hearts are all the more melancholy for their detachment. The author's decision to tell this story with such uneasy restraint makes for challenging, unsentimental reading.
Publishers Weekly
As Rossi explores the narcissism of both love and grief, and the way lovers become a circle of two—with no place for a pathetic, precocious child—she reveals herself a gifted storyteller. Judging from this elegant, searing novel, seen from several viewpoints, this author has a million tales in her mind burning to be told. — Emily White
Amazon Editorial Reviews
From Granta-award finalist and acclaimed story writer Rossi, a well-orchestrated second novel, consistently probing and upbeat, in which three people get their hearts' desires by willfully transcending suffering and doubt. The Depression-struck factory town of Paterson, New Jersey, is perhaps an unlikely place to find fulfillment, but that's where engineer Edward Devlin decides to go in 1934 after burying his young wife, Agnes, in Ireland. He gives their daughter, Maura, into the care of his spinster sisters, since in his wild grief he can think only of leaving everything behind. Paterson for Edward means Fitzgibbon, a successful Irish factory owner who may help him make a fresh start. Sure enough, Fitz welcomes Edward with open arms after hearing his story and soon finds him a good job. But as Edward begins his new life in the home of his benefactor, he slowly discovers that he's attracted to Fitz's wife, Sylvia, and that the feeling is mutual. Frustrated by a childless marriage and unsatisfied by charity work, Sylvia has dreamed of a release; she and Edward share a neediness, it seems, that Fitz in all his self-sufficiency could never imagine. The pairs happiness together is undermined by the burden of their deceit, even after Edward finds his own apartment and they can become lovers at their leisure. But when Fitz, who recognizes the affair as the ticket to his own freedom, begins divorce proceedings, all are well on their way to having exactly what they want. On the periphery of this equation is Maura, who languishes in a convent school back in Ireland but remains unshakeable in her conviction that her father will come to get her. She too is ultimately triumphant. In lesser hands this would be the stuff of melodrama, but here its transformed into a story remarkable for its fluidity and grace. A rare accomplishment.
Kirkus Reviews
Book Club 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 Houseguest:
1. What kind of man is Edward Devlin? What do you think of his decision to leave his daughter Maura behind in Ireland after his wife died? Is he correct in doing so—is his decision in the best interests of himself...or Maura...or both?
2. What about Sylvia—what kind of woman is she? What are her dreams...and why is her life unfulfilling to her?
3. Consider Sylvia's marriage to Fitzgibbon: is it possible to justify her affair with Edward? Do you have sympathy for the couple...Edward and Sylvia? For Edward—is his infatuation with Sylvia a betrayal of his deceased wife? Or is it earned: a feeling that "all the dreariness of the last months [was] working its way out of his system"?
4. Fitzgibbon thinks of Sylvia and Edward thus: ''He could not imagine spending the rest of his life with Sylvia.... Men like Devlin needed wives. They hardly existed without them. They hardly existed with them." Is this a fair assessment or not? Is Fitzgibbon overly self-sufficient—without normal human needs? Or is his independence admirable—what do you think?
5. Then, of course, there is Maura, left by her father in the care of two bitter aunts—Bell and Sadie. How well does Maura manage her grief and loneliness? In the end, she passes a sort of judgment on her father...is she right?
6. What is the moral predicament at the heart of this novel? Is there one...or more than one?
7. Are you satisfied by the novel's end? Do you feel the moral dilemmas have been resolved...or put aside?
8. Agnes Rossi tells her story from differing points of view. Why might she have decided to structure her narrative in that manner, rather than use a single narrator? How do these varying viewpoints affect your understanding of the novel?
9. Which character in this story did you sympathsize with most? Which one, the least?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online of off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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The Optimist's Daughter
Eudora Welty, 1972
Knopf Doubleday
192 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780679728832
Summary
The Optimist's Daughter is the story of Laurel McKelva Hand, a young woman who has left the South and returns, years later, to New Orleans, where her father is dying.
After his death, she and her silly young stepmother go back still farther, to the small Mississippi town where she grew up. Alone in the old house, Laurel finally comes to an understanding of the past, herself, and her parents. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—April 13, 1909
• Where—Jackson, Mississippi, USA
• Death—July 23, 2001
• Where—Jackson, Mississippi
• Education—Mississippi University for Women, Columbia
University (New York)
• Awards—Pulitizer Prize, 1973; Rea Award, 1992
Eudora Welty was an award-winning writer and photographer who wrote about the American South. Welty was born in Jackson, Mississippi and lived a significant portion of her life in the city's Belhaven neighborhood, where her home has been preserved. She was educated at the Mississippi State College for Women (now called Mississippi University for Women), the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Columbia University's business school. While at Columbia University, she also was the captain of the women's polo team.
During the 1930s, Welty worked as a photographer for the Works Progress Administration. This job sent her all over the state of Mississippi photographing people from all economic and social classes. Collections of her photographs are One Time, One Place and Photographs. Welty's true love was literature, not photography, and she soon devoted her energy to writing fiction.
Her first short story, Death of a Traveling Salesman, appeared in 1936. Her work attracted the attention of Katherine Anne Porter, who became a mentor to her and wrote the foreword to Welty's first collection of short stories, A Curtain of Green, in 1941. The book immediately established Welty as one of American literature's leading lights and featured the legendary short stories "A Worn Path," "Why I Live at the P.O.," and "Petrified Man," all of which have been included in many short story anthologies and literature text books through the years.
The Canadian writer Alice Munro said that Welty's "A Worn Path" was perhaps the most perfect short story ever written. The volume also includes such well-regarded stories as "Powerhouse", "Clytie", "A Piece of News", as well as the title story. In 1992 Welty was awarded the Rea Award for the Short Story for her lifetime contributions to the American short story. Her novel, The Optimist's Daughter, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Eudora Welty died of pneumonia in Jackson, at the age of 92. (From Wikipedia.)
Book Reviews
(Older works have few, if any, mainstream press reviews online. See Amazon and Barnes & Noble for helpful customer reviews.)
The Optimist's Daughter, which first appeared in The New Yorker of March 15, 1969, is a miracle of compression, the kind of book, small in scope but profound in its implications.... Its story has all those qualities peculiar to the finest short novels: a theme that vibrates with overtones, suspense and classical inevitability. Known as a "Southern regionalist," Miss Welty is too good for pigeonholing labels. Though she has stayed close to home, two interlocking notions have been demonstrated in her fiction: how easily the ordinary turns into legend, and how firmly the exotic is grounded in the banal....the best book Eudora Welty has ever written.
Howard Moss - The New York Times
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)
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Something on the Side
Carl Weber, 2008
Kensington Publishing
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780758215796
Summary
Carl Weber—New York Times bestselling author of The First Lady and So You Call Yourself a Man—represents with a straight-up novel about friendship and love, sex and betrayal, and how getting some on the side is never as simple as it seems.
Meet Tammy, Egypt, Isis, Nikki, Coco, and Tiny—the bodacious women of the Big Girls Book Club. There's only one rule to being a member. You must be at least a size 14.
BGBC president Tammy loves everything about her life—her two kids, her fierce friends, her BMW. She especially loves taking care of business for her husband, Tim, for whom she'd do anything. This year, she intends to top all his past birthdays by having a threesome with her best friend, Egypt. Now, if only Egypt will agree to grant them this very special favor.
And then there's hot-to-trot Coco Brown, who has a habit of messing around with married men. It doesn't bother her, as long as they don't try to deny it. But now that she's hooked up with a man who makes his living being every woman's fantasy, all she cares about is making sure he doesn't stray.
But not every BGBC member is lucky with men. As insatiable about books as they are about love-or lust-these friends are about to discover how tough it is to keep it real when they all have Something on the Side. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
Carl Weber is the New York Times bestselling author of The First Lady, So You Call Yourself a Man, The Preacher's Son, Player Haters, Lookin' for Luv, Married Men, and Baby Momma Drama. He is also the Publisher and Editorial Director of Urban Books.
He graduated from Virginia State University with a B.S. in accounting and has an MBA in marketing from the University of Virginia. (From the publisher.)
Book Reviews
In Something on the Side you'll fall in love with the members of the Big Girls Book club (BGBC). Besides loving a good book, there's only one other requirement to join: You have to be at least size 14. Tammy, BGBC's president, has as much drama going on as any of the books her members are reading. Consider this: Tammy loves her husband, Tim, so much that she wants to give him a threesome for his b-day. The other woman? Her best friend, Egypt, who, like you, will think homegirl has lost her mind. As he did in previous page-turners, Weber keeps the action moving while giving us some surprisingly touching moments that will make you pause just long enough to reach for a tissue.
Essence
The only requirement to joining the Big Girls Book Club is all ladies must be at least a size 14. Another unofficial rule appears to be having something going on in one's love life that's a little bit dangerous. But in Weber's raunchy romantic comedy, these babes find there's a consequence to every freaky action in or out of the bedroom. The BGBC president is Tammy, a "sexy egomaniac" whose marriage suffers after she persuades her best friend Egypt to participate in a threesome as a birthday gift for her hubby, Tim. Egypt's sister, Isis, must face the truth about her fiance, Tony, while Egypt learns keeping secrets from the girls isn't wise. Coco, BGBC's aggressive single, finally meets her match. And the trouble Nikki is having with Tiny, the woman she left her jealous husband for, gets intense after Nikki meets a new flame. Weber keeps things tight and funny; readers with a bent for the bootylicious will certainly want to pick this one up.
Publishers Weekly
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 Something on the Side:
1. Of the five main characters—Nikki, Coco, Tammy, Isis, and Egypt, whom did you enjoy or sympathize with most? Which of the women annoyed you most? Do the women seem to represent prototypes?
2. Perhaps of all the women, Nikki seems to learn something by the end of the book. What does she come to understand?
3. Um...what was Tammy thinking? Good idea...or not so good?
4. Is this book simply for entertainment's sake...or do you feel it offers a genuine portrayal of women's lives? Or try this question: can a man write realistically about women? Does Weber?
5. How do the women handle their "plus" size? Does being large mean being miserable? Can big women have big lives?
6. Do you like how Weber switched points of view for each chapter? Why might he have structured the book as he did? Did you find the differing points of view absorbing or off-putting?
7. Was the ending predictable or surprising?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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