The Leavers by Lisa Ko - April 2019

April 2019 selection - The Leavers by Lisa Ko

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, April 11th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our April book, The Leavers by Lisa Ko.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Video visit to Fuzhou, China

Psychology Today article about trans-racial adoption

Fuzhou Garment Company website

2018 NYC Immigrant Annual Report (with lots of colorful graphs)

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

Thurs. May 9^th              Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Thurs. June 13^tt              Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What relevance, if any, does The Leavers have to the immigration issues dividing much of the world today? What are your opinions regarding immigration. Did this book alter those opinions...or confirm them?
2. How is Polly Guo portrayed in this work? Do you admire her...or not? Does she engender sympathy? Does your attitude toward her change during the course of the novel? Early on she is ambivalent about Deming's birth, placing him in a bag and leaving him underneath a city bench...only to return to him, of course. Is she to blame for her ambivalence?
3. Talk about Polly's turbulent past and how it shapes who she has become. She seems driven by dreams of her own. What are those dreams?
4. How would you describe Deming when he arrives back in the U.S. as a six-year-old? What kind of family do Polly and Leon provide for Deming and Michael? What kind of life do they lead in the Bronx? Consider Polly's job in the nail salon. 
5. Deming is utterly bewildered by his mother's disappearance. Talk about the effect it has on him as he grows into adolescence and young adulthood? Consider this observation: "If he held everyone at arm’s length, it wouldn’t hurt as much when they disappeared." Or this one: "He had eliminated the possibility of feeling out of place by banishing himself to no place." 
6. What role do Ko's music and his gambling play; how do they help assuage his pain? At one point, after a performance with his band, Deming slips out, thinking to himself, "It felt good being the one making the excuse to get away." What does he mean?
7. What do you think of Kay and Peter Wilkinson? Are they clueless? Insensitive? Well-meaning?
8. Polly's story is told in the first person while Deming's is in the third person. Why do you think the author made that choice? Is Polly's tale meant to be a journal for Deming?
9. Polly is the one who sees the nature of the immigration system firsthand. How is the system portrayed in the novel? 
10. Lisa Ko says the novel was inspired by a 2009 New York Times article about an undocumented immigrant from China who spent 18 months in detention. She had been arrested at a bus station on the way to Florida for a new job. Does knowing that the novel has its roots in a true story have any impact on how you understand it?
11. From Deming to Daniel and Peilan to Polly, do you think the name changes of the main characters helped them to find a fresh start, or further complicated their search for belonging?
12. The Leavers asks us to grapple with a complicated image of motherhood in Polly’s experience. Did you empathize with her? Did your view of her change as more of her story is revealed?
13. A major theme throughout the book is the fantasy of alternate selves. As Polly accepts that she is having her child, Ko writes, “Peilan continued on in the village, feeding chickens and stray cats and washing cabbages, as Polly lived out a bonus existence abroad. Peilan would marry Haifeng or another village boy while Polly would walk the endless blocks of new cities.” Likewise, Polly and Deming have a game of finding their “doppelgangers” and imagining the lives the alternate Deming and Mama would lead. Why do you think Polly and Deming keep returning to these ideas?
14. Similarly, as Polly and Deming make choices, face different situations, and develop in their stories, Ko continually asks us to consider the way we move into differing versions of ourselves and how how those selves must co-exist, sometimes painfully. Have you had a life experience that brought you to a different version of yourself? What truly changes and what stays the same about Polly and Deming?
15. The novel often goes backwards and forwards in time, and the viewpoint changes with Polly’s story in first person and Daniel’s in third person. How do you think structure relates to the larger narrative, and how did it affect your connection with the characters?
16. Discuss Deming / Daniel. How is he personally accountable for his choices? Are they a result of nature or nurture? Whose actions toward him left the greatest impact, for better or worse – Peter and Kay’s, his mother’s, Roland’s, Vivian’s, even government policy?
17. What was your first impression of the title of this book? How did revisiting The Leavers inform what you might suspect to happen as plot twists appeared throughout the story? Discuss the power a title has in reference to a greater book.
18. The Leavers won the 2016 PEN/Bellwether Prize, an award that was “created to promote ­ction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships.” What did you get out of this novel? If applicable, compare it to other novels written on a similar subject.
19. Deming plays a concert at the beginning of the novel and again at the end, neither of which could be considered a success by most standards. Compare these performances and consider what they convey about the journey he has been on.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

March 2019 selection - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Thursday, March 14th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our March book, Eleanor Oliphant isCompletely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

Here are some links for additional background and information: 

Author Interview

Listen to the Carpenters’ Top of the World

Map of Glasgow

Emily Dickinson’s Wild Night poem

Coming up, we have the following book to look forward to reading and discussing:

Thurs. Apr. 11^th           The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Thurs. May 9^th             Days Without End by Sebastian Barry

Thurs. June 13^th          Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Knowing the truth about Eleanor’s family, look back through the book to revisit her exchanges with her mother. Did you see what was ahead? How did Honeyman lay the groundwork for the final plot twist? 

2. What are the different ways that the novel’s title could be interpreted? What do you think happens to Eleanor after the book ends? 

3. Eleanor says, “These days, loneliness is the new cancer—a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted” (p. 227). Do you agree? 

4. What does Raymond find appealing about Eleanor? And why does Eleanor feel comfortable opening up to Raymond? 

5. Eleanor is one of the most unusual protagonists in recent fiction, and some of her opinions and actions are very funny. What were your favorite moments in the novel?

6. “Did men ever look in the mirror, I wondered, and find themselves wanting in deeply fundamental ways? When they opened a newspaper or watched a film, were they presented with nothing but exceptionally handsome young men, and did this make them feel intimidated, inferior, because they were not as young, not as handsome?” (p. 74). Eleanor’s question is rhetorical and slightly tongue-in-cheek, but worth answering. What are your thoughts? If men don’t have this experience, why not? If they do, why is it not more openly discussed? 

7. Eleanor is frightened that she may become like her mother. Is this a reasonable fear? What is the balance of nature and nurture? 

8. Is it possible to emerge from a traumatic childhood unscathed? 

9. Eleanor says, “If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say” (p. 226–227). Why is this the case? 

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - Feb. 2019

February 2019 selection - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet Wednesday, February 13th in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our February book, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

Here are some links for additional background information:

Four-minute tour of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow

Interesting review and analysis of the novel

Author interview

Coming up, we have the following book to look forward to reading and discussing:

March 14 - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Thanks for reading with us!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. In the transcript at the opening of A Gentleman in Moscow, the head of the tribunal and Count Rostov have the following exchange: "Secretary Ignatov: I have no doubt, Count Rostov, that some in the galley are surprised to find you charming; but I am not surprised to find you so. History has shown charm to be the last ambition of the leisure class. What I do find surprising is that the author of the poem in question could have become a man so obviously without purpose. Rostov: I have lived under the impression that a man’s purpose is known only to God. Secretary Ignatov: Indeed. How convenient that must have been for you. "

To what extent is A Gentleman in Moscow a novel of purpose? How does the Count’s sense of purpose manifest itself initially, and how does it evolve as the story unfolds?

2. Over the course of Book Two, why does the Count decide to throw himself from the roof of the Metropol? On the verge of doing so, why does the encounter with the old handyman lead him to change his plans?

3. The Count’s life under house arrest is greatly influenced by his relationship with four women: Nina, Marina, Anna, and Sofia. What is the nature of the Count’s relationship with each of these women? How do those relationships differ from his relationship with the members of the Triumvirate—Andrey and Emile?

4. The majority of A Gentleman in Moscow is told in the third person from the Count’s point of view. There is, however, an overarching narrator with a different perspective than the Count’s. Initially, this narrator appears in footnotes, then in the Addendums, then in the historical introductions of 1930, 1938, and 1946. How would you characterize this narrator? How does he differ from the Count in terms of his point of view and tone of voice? What is his role in the narrative?

5. In the 1946 chapter, Mishka, Osip, and Richard each share with the Count their perspective on the meaning of the revolutionary era. What are these three perspectives? Are you inclined to agree with one of them; or do you find there is some merit to each?

6. One of the pleasures of writing fiction is discovering upon completion of a project that some thread of imagery has run through the work without your complete awareness–forming, in essence, an unintentional motif. While I was very conscious of the recurrence of tolling bells, keys, and concentric circles in the book, here are a few motifs that I only recognized after the fact: Packages wrapped in brown paper such as the Maltese Falcon, Mishka’s book of quotations, the Russian nesting dolls discovered in the Italians’ closet, and the Count’s copy of Montaigne (in Paris). The likeness of stars such as the freckles on Anna’s back and the beacon on the top of the Shukhov radio tower. Sailors (often in peril) such as Robinson Crusoe, Odysseus, Admiral Makarov, and Arion in the myth of Delphinus. What role do any of these motifs play in the thematic composition of the book?

7. How does the narrative incorporate the passage of time, and does it do so effectively? Thematically speaking, how does the Count’s experience of Time change over the course of the novel and how does it relate to his father’s views as embodied by the twice-tolling clock? Do you agree with the Count’s conclusion that we experience time differently as we grow older?  What does the novel suggest about the influence of individuals on history and vice versa?

8. At the opening of Book Five, the Count has already decided to get Sofia out of Russia. What occurs over the course of Book Four to lead him to this decision? Why does he choose to remain behind?

9. Near the novel’s conclusion, what is the significance of the toppled cocktail glass in Casablanca?

10. This is a novel with a somewhat fantastical premise set half a century ago in a country very different from our own. Nonetheless, do you think the book is relevant today? If so, in what way?

11. Is there a danger that Towles’ sympathetic portrayal of the Count glosses over the part many Russian aristocrats played in the oppression of the peasants and later, the working classes which eventually led to the Revolution?

12. How did you interpret the ending of the novel? Was it a satisfactory conclusion to the story?

13.  A reviewer, Annalisa Quinn, comments that “Towles never lets anyone merely say goodbye when the could bid adieu, never puts a period where an exclamation point or dramatic ellipsis could stand.” How did you feel about the author’s apparent delight in extravagant language?

14. During his time at The Metropol the Count forges friendships which crow age, class and political boundaries. How does he make friends so easily? What is the novel’s overall message about friendship?

15. In a review of A Gentleman in Moscow Ron Charles points out that “the whole enterprise depends on how deeply you fall in love with the Count.” Did you fall in love with Count Rostov as a character? Why or why not?

16. How are work and purpose portrayed in the novel? Do you agree with the implication that a sense of purpose is an essential ingredient for a fulfilling life?

17. Discuss the different ways in which the historical events taking place outside the Metropol are conveyed to the reader. Do these snippets of information tell us enough about the state of the Soviet Union during this period? Is the light tone of the novel at odds with the horrors of Stalinist Russia?

18. One of the Count’s favorite stories is the evolution of the moths of Manchester. Is his story also one of evolution? Are there any other evolutions throughout the novel?

The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea - Jan. 2019

January 2019 selection - The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

Happy New Year!

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet  Thursday, January 10th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our January book, The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

How to get a green card

1930’s repatriation of Mexicans

Author interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross

On Being interview with author discussing the meaning of borders

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

Wed. Feb. 13^th            A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (note changed day and date!)

Thurs. Mar. 14^th          Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

The Mothers by Britt Bennett Dec. 2018

December 2018 selection - The Mothers by Brit Bennett

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet, Thursday, December 13th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our December book, The Mothers by Brit Bennett.

Discussion questions, author interview and reviews are attached.

Here are some links for additional background and information: 

Issues in the spotlight with the Center for Reproductive Rights

Five facts about the religious lives of African Americans

8 Great Questions with Brit Bennett

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

Thurs. Jan. 10^th           The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea

Wed. Feb. 13^th            A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (note changed day and date!)

Thurs. Mar. 14^th          Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Thanks for reading with us. I look forward to seeing you at the Fairfax Library.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. To what degree do you think Nadia's discomfort about her ambition is just in her head, and to what degree do you think her community sees her as an outsider because of it? Why is leaving home so revolutionary for Nadia? What can her academic accomplishments give her that her home community cannot?

2.Nadia and Luke are two black teen who go to a mostly white school, on the edge of a military base. When Luck ends up in the hospital, he becomes conscious of how Hispanic male nurse suffers from others’ stereotypes. How does the author approach identity in relation to race? How must Nadia change the way she interacts with people inside or outside of her community?

3. The Mothers strives to handle teen pregnancy with compassion and wisdom, portraying it as a life-transforming experience with incalculable ramifications. Why do you think Nadia makes the choices she does? How do these choices affect her life, Luke’s life, and even the larger community?

4.After his football injury, Luke must struggle to redefine his own sense of himself, his potential and expectations. Later in the book he befriends a male physical therapist who shows Luke that he, too, has the potential for ministering to the sick or injured—which is a sort of “mothering” in itself. How does Luke’s sense of masculinity change, before and after his injury? How does the author explore masculinity in the depiction of Nadia’s father, a professional military man who must learn to connect with his daughter? Do you think that, in the end, both father and daughter have found a way to communicate and show their love to each other?

5. The novel has a distinct nucleus, made up of “The Mothers,” the elderly women of the black church community who watch over the small-town goings-on with a presence that evokes the tone of a fable. Their chorus, Greek in format, shows the insularity and defiance of a small, loving community. How do “The Mothers” embody their community? In what ways do they impose their own experiences—their beliefs, their upbringings, their age—on the younger generation?

6. Another focus of the book is Nadia’s relationship with her best friend, Aubrey, as they help each other through adolescence and motherlessness. It provides poignant commentary about the ways women rely on one another, and about the necessity of navigating hard truths with the people we love. How do Nadia and Aubrey change over the course of the book—both within their friendship and outside of it? What does this friendship give each of the girls?

7. As Nadia maneuvers the adolescent world and beyond, how does her grief over her mother's death change her? Do you think it ultimately strengthens her? Weakens her? 

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry Nov. 2018

November 2018 selection  The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet, Thursday, November 8th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our November book, The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.

Discussion questions, author interview and reviews are attached.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

Historical monsters of England

Rights of women in Victorian era England

The Expatriation law was passed in the US just after the Victorian era.

Examples of the Fata Morgana phenomenon

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

Thurs. Dec. 13^th          The Mothers by Brit Bennett

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:

1. Many comparisons have been drawn between Sarah Perry’s writing and the Victorian novelists who were writing at the time the book was set, including Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Do you think this book feels Victorian, or contemporary feel when she effectively provides hope in the form of bread each day?

2. “I’ll fill your wounds with gold”, Michael says. He means both literally that he will make sure Cora is financially comfortable during their marriage in exchange for the pleasure of hurting her, but also that he will remake her as something more beautiful and interesting than she was before. Cora survived her horrible marriage, but was definitely damaged by it. What do you think the seams of gold are in Cora’s character?

3. Many of the characters have unequal relationships: Cora and Martha, Spencer and Will. Do you think that viewing someone as a means to an end necessarily precludes loving them?

4. Cora’s son, Francis, might today be diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. Despite his challenges, he gets a lot of pleasure from learning about the natural world. Eccentricity seems to have been more acceptable in the Victorian era, at least for men of a certain class. Do you think Francis would be happier in his time or in our own?

5. Will is at odds with the superstitious villagers, who insist the serpent is real, whereas he sees their conviction as a sign of their lack of faith. However, he is also wrangling with Cora, who is more interested in science than religious belief. And while Will is a minister of the established Church, he secretly reads Darwin. Do you think he believes faith is fundamentally rooited in the words of the Bible or a more personal encounter with the world?

6. When Francis asks Will what sin is, he describes it as falling short. When Will and Cora finally have their encounter in the woods, Will’s wife is still alive. How do you think Will would judge this incident by his own definition of sin?

7. Cora’s physical size and mannish habits of dress are frequently commented upon by other characters in the novel. She rejects a lot of society’s expectations of her as a woman, whereas Stella Ransome is the living embodiment of the perfect housewife. Despite their differences, they are friends. What do you think Perry is trying to tell us by having Cora save her rival instead of quietly letting her drown?

8. Cora sends her angry letter to Luke at a terrible time --- it arrives as all his other hopes are being dashed. If this unfortunate coincidence hadn’t taken place, would we still read the letter as cruel? Should she have expressed her thoughts more kindly or was she right to be angry?

9. One of the subplots of the novel is the disappearance of Naomi Banks. She and Joanna Ransome argued and Naomi ran away. By the end of the novel, she has returned and Joanna is trying to cope with the imminent death of her mother. Do you think they will become close friends again, for good, or are the differences between them simply too great?

10. The novel sets up Cora to choose between two men and in the end she chooses neither. Do you think this is a comment on traditional literary plots? Do you think the novel sees friendship as more valuable and enduring than romantic love?

11. Cora seems to know that at one level she married Michael for his money. Martha is faced with a similar choice, though Spencer is much kinder than Michael. Many of the characters have unequal relationships: Cora and Martha, Spencer and Will. Do you think that viewing someone as a means to an end necessarily precludes loving them?

12. Cora survived her horrible marriage, but was definitely damaged by it. How do you think that the experience has shaped her character?

13. Will is at odds with the superstitious villagers, who insist the Serpent is a message from God and want him to preach fire and brimstone to them. However, he is also wrangling with Cora, who is more interested in science than faith. Do you think he believes faith is more about the following the words of the bible or more about personal belief?

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders Oct. 2018

October 2018 selection  Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group will meet, Thursday, October 11th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library to discuss our October book, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Discussion questions, author interview and reviews are attached.

Here are some links for additional background and information:

The Bardos – or stages of death and the afterlife

Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown

The death of Willie Lincoln

The Civil War by the numbers

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

Thurs. Nov. 8^th            The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Thurs. Dec. 13^th          The Mothers by Brit Bennett

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:

1. The presence of a child in the bardo is rare, but what other things about Willie make him different from the other ghosts?

2. Which of the ghosts’ stories resonated with you the most?

3. How did the style and form of the book enhance or detract from your experience of the story? What did you think of the author’s decision to include snippets of real, historical sources among the fictional narration?

4. In what ways do the social structures of this time period manifest in the bardo? How does Saunders play with and explore historical attitudes towards race and class throughout the novel?

5. In what ways does Saunders challenge and expand the genre of historical fiction? Why do you think Lincoln and his legacy remain such popular subjects in literature today?

6. It is unknown, both to the reader and to the character of the Reverend Everly Thomas, why he is damned, even though he understands that he is dead. What do you think is meant by this omission?

7. On page 87, the Reverend Everly Thomas explains the Barons’ existence on either side of the dreaded fence as not about wealth per se, but about being “wealthy in spirit.” Discuss what this means, and how it relates to the slaves’ ability to be near the fence while the other ghosts remain unable to stand such proximity.

8. Roger Bevins says that “all were in sorrow, or had been, or soon would be.” Vollman responds by saying “It was the nature of things” and that we are all “suffering, limited beings.” Do you agree?

9. George Saunders has described the question at the core of this book as, “How do we continue to love in a world in which the objects of our love are so conditional?” Did you find this to be true, and do you feel like you came to a deeper understanding of mortality?

10. Towards the end, the ghosts unite in an attempt to “enter” Lincoln’s mind and stop him from leaving the graveyard. In doing so, they find themselves transformed from their wretched states, remembering parts of their lives that had been lost to them since entering the bardo. Discuss the significance of this transformation.

11. Discuss the final scene, in which Thomas Havens follows Lincoln out of the graveyard on horseback. What do you think this foreshadows?