Tenth of December February 2015

February 2015 Book Selection

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, February 12th at 7 p.m. to discuss our February book Tenth of December by George Saunders.

Discussion questions are below.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

New Yorker interview with George Saunders

Discussion of the writing process with George Saunders and his editor

Brief video review and analysis of title story, Tenth of December

Coming up, we have the following books to look forward to reading:

Thurs. Mar. 12          The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Thurs. Apr 9              At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcón (OBOM choice)

Thurs. May 14           The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

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

Tenth of December by George Saunders

"Victory Lap":

1. Why do you think the story is called "Victory Lap"?
2. Did you find each character's train of thought to be believable? Why or why not?
3. How would you characterize Alison and her parents? Kyle and his parents?
4. What made Kyle run?
5. Did you like the way Saunders had the action unfold in the story, and especially how the end jumped to months later and Alison waking from a dream?

"Sticks":

6. "Sticks" is short even by short story standards. What do you think Saunders accomplished (or was trying to accomplish) in this one to two pages?

7.       Do any difficult people in your life have something equivalent to the poles -- a way of showing unusual affection or enthusiasm?

8.       Why do you think it is called "Sticks"? What are the sticks?

"Puppy":

9.       Do you think Marie, the woman looking for apuppy, was a good parent? Was Callie, the woman selling the puppy? Do you think they both loved their kids? Was one parenting method better than the other?

10.   Do you think Marie called social services about the situation with Bo chained in the yard? Do you think that would be the appropriate response? Was Callie a fit parent?

11.   Marie thinks, after leaving without the puppy, "it was a nice pup, but Marie was not going to contribute to a situation like this in even the smallest way" (41). In the end, though, her actions led to Callie abandoning the puppy in the cornfield. What does it mean to "contribute" and has Marie already done so? What do you think an appropriate reaction to the situation would be?

12.   How do the flashbacks to Marie's childhood influence your opinion of her generally and as a parent?

"Escape from Spiderhead":

1. "Escape from Spiderhead" could be classified as a different genre than the preceding stories since its premise is science fiction. Did you enjoy that change?
2. If minds and emotions could be manipulated through a drip, as in the story, how would that affect human freedom and responsibility?
3. Abnesti justifies his experiments by saying he is working for the greater good and that the people harmed have done very bad things in the past. Do you think he is justified? If prisoners had a choice between regular prison and Spiderhead, then would the experiments be justified?
4. Why did Jeff kill himself?

"Exhortation":

5. What sort of work do you imagine the workers Todd is addressing do? Can you imagine situations where his exhortation is good advice or are there some underlying flaws?
6. What did Saunders accomplish by leaving the type of work a mystery?

"Al Roosten":

7. Did you like or sympathize with Al Roosten? Why or why not?

"The Semplica Girl Diaries":

8. How long did it take you to figure out what an "SG" was?
9. The Semplica Girls provided a science fiction element in an otherwise realistic, domestic story. Why do you think Saunders chose to use science fiction? Did you like that?
10. Do you think Saunders is trying to draw parallels between the Semplica Girls and any situations in our current culture? If so, what?
11. One of the last things the main character writes is, "What could she want so much, that would make her pull such desperate stunt?" (167). Consider the irony of this statement in light of the desperate stunts that the main character has pulled throughout the story. What did he want so much? What are the different levels of poverty and social ambition considered in this story?

"Home":

12. What do you think Saunders is trying to convey in "Home"?

"My Chivalric Fiasco":

13. Once again Saunders uses a science fiction pharmaceutical drug as a key element in the story. Why do you think he does this? Does the use of the drug allow him to express something about human nature that would be harder to show in a realistic story?
14. This story, and many of the others, deals with families in very difficult financial situations. Discuss how that thread runs through the book and whether you think Saunders has captured the humanity and struggles within that socioeconomic class well.

"Tenth of December":

15. Why do you think the title of this story was chosen as the title for the book?
16. In what ways do the boy and old man save each other?
17. What do you think happens after the end of the story?

Overall:

18. What did you think about the science fiction in several of the stories?
19. What themes do you think link the stories in this collection?
20. . Most of the characters in these stories touch, in some way, on relationships with their parents or their children. How are these relationships generally portrayed?
21. Issues of class are at the core of many of these stories. What does Saunders seem to be trying to convey by using narrators that come from lower economic status? How do people regard those in upper or lower classes than themselves?
22. Saunders has often been called a science fiction writer, as well as a satirist. Would you say that is a fair assessment? Do you feel that the stories in Tenth of December skew towards a certain genre of fiction? If so, why do you think Saunders would choose to write in such a manner?
23. Each of the stories is written from a character’s point of view, sometimes alternating between multiple figures. What effect does that have in how you view the narrator? Can you identify with some; why or why not?