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 Best of Friends:
1. How does Martha Stewart come off in Pasternak's book? Has it changed you opinion of her? Have you come away with greater admiration of Stewart...or less?
2. What do you think of Mariana Pasternak?
3. What was Pasternak's motivation for penning the book? Is her view of Stewart an unbiased one? Is the book merely a kiss & tell book—gossipy and self-serving? Or does her memoir provide us with fascinating insights into one of the most powerful and remarkable women of our time?
4. How would you describe Pasternak and Stewart's friendship? What was the friendship built on—was it a genuine friendship? What did either woman gain from the relationship? What began to eat away at the bond between the two women—when did the first cracks begin to appear? How might you have fared in such a friendship, one in which the other half has a huge financial advantage?
5. What kind of mother, according to Pasternak, was Martha Stewart? Why did Pasternak never say anything to Stewart about her concerns? Why did she allow her own daughter to continue visiting the Stewart household unsupervised?
6. Talk about the 2004 Stewart trial and Pasternak's damaging testimony. On cross examination by Stewart's lawyer, Pasternak wavered, admitting, "I do not know if Martha said that or it's me who thought those words." Do you find it contradictory that six years later, Pasternak's memory has improved, if not regarding the trial, then on so many other points covered in her memoir? Or can this be explained by the fact that a writer's recall would vastly improve as a result of focusing on the act of writing?
7. Did you feel any envy, even just a twinge, reading about the high-end lifestyle lived by Martha Stewart? Any parts in particular—e.g., fame, food, travel, houses and furnishings? In other words, would it be fun to be Martha...or is it just the goodies that would be nice?
8. How does Pasternak describe Stewart's relationship with men and her proclivity toward sex? How is that the two women find themselves alone, for instance, on New Year's Eve in one of Martha's houses?
9. What was Pasternak's fascination with Andy Stewart? Why do Andy and Martha divorce? What happened to Pasternak's marriage and why?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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