The
Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet tomorrow, Thursday, October 8th
at 7 p.m. to discuss our October book Someone by Alice McDermott.
Discussion
questions are below.
Here
are some links for additional background and information:
PBS Interview with Alice
McDermott discussing Someone
Photos
of 1930’s Brooklyn – “flickriver”
and Berenice
Abbot photos
Coming
up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:
Thurs.
Nov. 12 Consequences
by Penelope Lively
Thurs.
Dec 10 Outline
by Rachel Cusk
Thanks
for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends
of the Fairfax Library
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Someone by Alice
McDermott
1. Is the
world of Someone familiar to you? Did it provoke rich recognition
in you?
2. What do
you think of Marie? What didn’t she tell us? Is she really as willful and bold
as she describes herself to be?
3. Does
Marie have faith or hope? Others in her life certainly do. Does she?
4. There are
some troubled relationships between parents and children in this community. How
are the children affected by their parents? What are the most troubling
parent-children bonds? And the most favorable ones?
5. Compare
Walter Hartnett with Tom Commeford. Is Marie better off with Tom as her
husband? Why or why not?
6. What does
Marie find attractive in Walter? And does her impression of Walter change over
time?
7. What does
Marie learn while working at Fagin’s funeral parlor?
8. Why does
Marie describe old age as being on a “high, precarious ledge”?
9. Many of
the characters suffer from blindness or vision problems. What does this mean in
the world of the novel?
10. Many
characters also suffer from alcoholism. What role does alcohol addiction play
here?
11. Why
doesn’t Marie want to learn to cook, despite her mother’s constant efforts to
teach her?
12. The term
“amadan” is a refrain throughout the novel. Besides Pegeen Chehab, who are the
fools in the novel?
13. Describe
Marie’s relationship with her brother, Gabe. Does it change over the course of
her life?
14. We never
know for sure why Gabe leaves the priesthood. What do you think is the reason?
15. Why does the memory of Pegeen
resonate so profoundly for Marie? Is there a similar story from your youth that
has had a lasting effect on your life?
16. What does Marie’s mother try to teach her about becoming a fulfilled woman? What exceptional qualities does Marie’s father possess? How does their marriage shape Marie’s vision of her future?
17. Discuss the novel’s Brooklyn neighborhood as if it were a character. What are its most colorful attributes? How is it transformed over the years while Marie grows up? Do its inhabitants support one another, or is their gossip judgmental? Think about their speculation over the gender of Dora Ryan’s spouse and Bill Corrigan’s frailties.
18. Why does Marie resist her mother’s attempts to urge her to adulthood, from how to read a recipe to the importance of finding a job?
19. How is Marie able to look past the tragic death of Mrs. Hanson and focus on the loveliness of Gerty and her baby sister, Durna? Throughout her life, what beauty does Marie find in mothering?
20. What is the role of fate versus free will in Someone? What did Gabe seek and find in religion? What truths about faith did he eventually learn to embrace?
21. What did Walter Hartnett ultimately get out of his time with Marie? Was she naïve to fall for him, or was he powerfully persuasive? What made Tom Commeford a good match for her?
22. What does Marie discover about life by working for Mr. Fagin?
23. Discuss the story of Margaret Tuohy. How was Marie affected by the bishop’s choice of elegant burial clothes for his sister? What did the experience show Marie about the role of the survivor?
24. As Gabe tells the story of the woman at his first parish who bought mints before attending church each week, what is revealed about the importance of avoiding assumptions? How do perceptions and misperceptions shape the novel’s storyline?
25. What is the effect of the novel’s first-person narration? As Marie narrates her life, what changes do you notice in her view of the world—literal ones, as she endures eye surgeries, and symbolic ones?
26. Discuss Marie’s relationship with her own children. What does she do differently from her parents? What traditions does she carry on? How does McDermott capture the revelations that life and loss bring?
27. How does the depiction of Irish identity and family life in Someone compare to that in similar worlds you’ve explored in other novels by Alice McDermott?
16. What does Marie’s mother try to teach her about becoming a fulfilled woman? What exceptional qualities does Marie’s father possess? How does their marriage shape Marie’s vision of her future?
17. Discuss the novel’s Brooklyn neighborhood as if it were a character. What are its most colorful attributes? How is it transformed over the years while Marie grows up? Do its inhabitants support one another, or is their gossip judgmental? Think about their speculation over the gender of Dora Ryan’s spouse and Bill Corrigan’s frailties.
18. Why does Marie resist her mother’s attempts to urge her to adulthood, from how to read a recipe to the importance of finding a job?
19. How is Marie able to look past the tragic death of Mrs. Hanson and focus on the loveliness of Gerty and her baby sister, Durna? Throughout her life, what beauty does Marie find in mothering?
20. What is the role of fate versus free will in Someone? What did Gabe seek and find in religion? What truths about faith did he eventually learn to embrace?
21. What did Walter Hartnett ultimately get out of his time with Marie? Was she naïve to fall for him, or was he powerfully persuasive? What made Tom Commeford a good match for her?
22. What does Marie discover about life by working for Mr. Fagin?
23. Discuss the story of Margaret Tuohy. How was Marie affected by the bishop’s choice of elegant burial clothes for his sister? What did the experience show Marie about the role of the survivor?
24. As Gabe tells the story of the woman at his first parish who bought mints before attending church each week, what is revealed about the importance of avoiding assumptions? How do perceptions and misperceptions shape the novel’s storyline?
25. What is the effect of the novel’s first-person narration? As Marie narrates her life, what changes do you notice in her view of the world—literal ones, as she endures eye surgeries, and symbolic ones?
26. Discuss Marie’s relationship with her own children. What does she do differently from her parents? What traditions does she carry on? How does McDermott capture the revelations that life and loss bring?
27. How does the depiction of Irish identity and family life in Someone compare to that in similar worlds you’ve explored in other novels by Alice McDermott?
