A READER’S GUIDE

To all members of that wonderful entity called a “book discussion group”: Thank you for choosing The Long Road.

Lynne Kathryn Cote

The Long Road

This is a sad story, playfully loaded with metaphors. What do the following represent?: the potholes and flying up chips; the dog and the kitten; the matter of elimination; the barn; snow--odd for July; the snowplow man; the errant twig; the butterfly; the midget; the silk braid trim fraying; the wait-a-minute shout.

Are the man and the woman robot-like because they are drained, therefore emotionless; or too saturated with pain and the weight of the future?.

Does the lack of quotation marks add to the tone of the story?

Has the author injected blame on either party?

Dinner on Thursday

Raffael DiLauro's illustration translates the mother from one particular scene. What are your other images of her? Can you mentally draw the father and now ten years postwar is he the same as when he was Captain Klauf?

Were your thoughts and emotions about the Vietnam War awakened?

What might be the biggest fear the Klauf brothers had after the arrival of Chestnut?

What feelings did you have about Thanh Phan, Chestnut’s mother?

What do you think was the primary emotion in the mother's poetry -- her anger over her husband's wartime "affair" or the concern for an unknown child?

This story had a one paragraph (four sentences) epilogue which the author made an eleventh-hour decision to eliminate. It started: We, the Klauf brothers, are men in our forties now, without Nana and Grandpa Ed, of course. Mom and Dad are gone too; and . . . How would you finish it?

Our Gangster

To you, what is the story’s dominant relationship: between two sisters, or between a mother and a daughter?

In the context of the times, can the father be an understandable character? Can the mother?

In DiLauro’s illustration, who is looking in the window?

If you are a female reader, did you feel angry? Sad? Have we come “a long way, Baby”?

A Way with Words

What does the use of two names --“Betty/Beth” -- reveal?

Despite the consequence of of her actions, is Betty/Beth a sympathetic character?

Does the capitalization of certain words and phrases indicate their importance? Does the story title help?

Why had Betty/Beth gone to the pishkun?

When did you realize that Betty/Beth belonged to the pickup truck camper?

What does Christy's attitude toward Betty/Beth tell you?

What is the significance of the references to a clock on pages 49 and 56?

How would you describe mental abuse?

What might be the result if someone is repeatedly told they are stupid and “no good.”

The Art of Mothering

Is the main character staying in her marriage for her daughter or for herself?

Does the fact that her work as an artist is less than she’d hoped for relate to her marital relationship?

Is Robbie in any way likable?

What is the meaning of the tales of European romance?

Do you find the main character weak? Frustrating? Pitiful? Understandable?

Is good “mothering” happening in this story?

One-Eye

Does the image of life in heaven the author created seem acceptable in the context of traditional religious thought?

In what way are the differences in socioeconomic status and race between Sondra and Janine important? Would the story have the same impact if there were not those differences.

What are your thoughts about Kay Sebastian? What should be the expectation of our children in caring for us in our final days? Does the lack of their day-to-day active involvement mean we are loved less by them?

Does Sondra feel superior to less educated and less affluent African Americans?

When there is a child with special needs in a family, do you think it is common for one parent to be more responsive to those needs than the other? What might this difference have on a marriage?

What relevance to the story is Janine’s opinion of God’s “mysterious ways” ? What is your opinion?

Danielle’s Story

Was it confusing or effective to have the first seven pages be the manuscript the agent is reading?

Did the publisher’s layout help make it appear, as intended, that the story itself was starting with the agent?

Why did Danielle Corstarvj destroy her manuscript? Discouragement? Fear?

The agent thinks: “An old Gypsy woman is dead; that, he cannot change.” The author does not clearly tell us the circumstances of that death. It remains a mystery, but what might be the answers? Are there some crimes best left unsolved?

How autobiographical is Danielle’s manuscript?

Reading the story were you sympathetic to the plight of Gypsies in today’s world?

Were you surprised to know of their persecution by the Nazis?

Are you interested in reading Peter Godwin’s article, “Gypsies--The Outsiders,” cited in the acknowledgments?

Did the flashback scene of Patrice Hemstead as a child encountering a Gypsy in a less than pleasant public bathroom turn your thoughts to those who do clean our public areas -- picking up the garbage, scrubbing where we excrete, dousing down vomit and spillage, freshening what we have left smelly?

What are your feelings about the agent? Compare him to Anton Stevens in Danielle's manuscript.

A Vagrant at the Door

Clyde and Lorraine are two disparate souls. What will make their relationship endure or not endure?

Is Clyde still actively grieving?

Who is more emotionally needy? Clyde or Lorraine?

Does Lorraine want a man, any man? And does Clyde want a woman, any woman?

How has the fact that Clyde was a war hero, saving the lives of relative strangers, contributed to his grief?

Is loss more difficult for those accustomed to being in control?

Is the vagrant just that? Or could he be someone larger in Lorraine’s life; someone she must be protected from?

From the name alone, describe “Bing-Bong Young.” What stereotypes did you bring forward?

What might the marking in the face of DiLauro’s illustration represent? A gun? Time? Confusion?

Why do we see only one arm?

What is Clyde really looking for as he stares into the maple laminate of Lorraine's table?

Twice in the story Lorraine said: She understood. Completely. What might that tell you about Lorraine? At the end, did you feel sorry for Clyde? Did you feel he had been tricked and seduced by Lorraine?

Four Sons

What does the opening scene at the bus station and the character of Lessie Greene bring to the story?

What are your feelings about Ruthi Forrest? Do you see her as a creation of her own mistakes or a victim of her environment and culture?

What might the author be trying to say by having Lessie, Ruthi, and Marlene Jones all with pink handkerchief or tissues?

What do we know about Marcus “Owl” Jones other than he is a low-level criminal and a delinquent father?

Where in the story is Jamie's pride in his father shown?

Does Jamie have a prejudice against white people? Against Hispanics? If so, why might that be?

Is there hope for Jamie? Does he truly understand Officer Berube’s parting words: “Bad things happen, but that doesn’t mean you’ve got to make bad decisions.” If you were asked about him, would you describe him as “basically a good boy?” Or not?

Are you interested in reading David Blankenhorn’s book, Fatherless America , cited in the acknowledgments?

Friends for a Very Long Time

Is the relationship between Dolores and Joan typical of many sisters?

What issues might underpin Dolores’s dislike of Lorna?

Why does Lorna keep holding Marty’s hand?

Can the death of a spouse change friendships?

In what ways does one emerge from grief changed?

Did her absence for several weeks from where she and Cliff lived make Joan’s return to Florida easier or harder?

What is the significance of Joan's rhymes to exercise her mind (page 163)?

What does the stubborn woman with the black shoes represent?

The fact that Joan can at the end say “Thank you. Clearly, and at full volume volume,” tells us what?

This story is about friendship, grief, and the kindness of strangers. Which resonates most clearly for you?

Do you think strained or unlikely friendships can continue by the mere force of their longevity?

The Depth of a Well

In what era does this story take place?

Describe the relationship between Marilou and Baba?

Has Baba helped or hurt the marriage of Marilou’s parents?

Is it natural for a young girl to have a crush on a male cousin?

What do we know about the baby Joseph who died? What can we speculate? What does Marta Berzinski contribute to our speculation?

Was Marilou’s praying to the Virgin Mary futile? Or did Mary answer in some way?

How does Baba’s response to Marilou on the issue of abortion help Marilou face the well? What does the well represent?

As Baba’s hair finally turns white, who will assume her role in the family?

How did the immigrant grandparents of so many of us contribute to our character and sense of worth?

A Trilogy of Sorts

I. KHalliday to IMWriting

What nonphysical characteristics could be used to describe Professor Lawrence Grant?

What is the reference to the movie Ordinary People?

Despite her sarcasm and flippancy, does Karyn Halliday appear vulnerable?

Did Lawrence Grant purposely not send Karyn his final e-mail announcing his leave of absence. If so, why? Or was it just an oversight?

What effect might her father's sexuality have on Karyn's ability to find fulfilling sexual intimacy?

II. The Creek Story

Why does the author use “the” instead of “her” in front of Brother, Father, Mother, and Nana? Why does she capitalize both words? What does she want us to know or feel?

There are no physical features given to The Father and The Mother. How do you see them?

Is it possible The Father’s position at the College is due more to the fact that he is of the Morganstern family than to his academic prowess? How might that contribute to his sense of self?

Who is the florist?

III. A Reading

Over ten years have passed since Karyn Halliday was Lawrence Grant’s student. Have his nonphysical characteristics changed?

Speculate on the cause of Karyn’s death. If you feel it was suicide, what was the progression of despair that brought Karyn to that point? How is that progression trackable from Part I to Part III.

In Scotty and Me, why had the thirteen- year- old narrator dusted trophies and drawn a layout of the house for a child too young to appreciate either?

Why might having a loved one killed by friendly fire rather than by an enemy be more painful? What shock is more lasting: a plane crash or a fatal car accident on the way to the grocery store? Why should a little boy not drown in a creek?

Is the girl who picked up the book Lawrence Grant had left, another Robin St. Clair, or another Karyn Halliday?

What had Karyn been truly seeking from Lawrence Grant?

Happy Hours

Does the mother reflect her times?

What explanation could be applied to the father’s behavior?

Who is more like the mother, the narrator or her sister, Bonnie?

Is it true that the pains of childhood sometimes do not surface again until much later in life?

What decade of adult life, the 40’s, 50’s, or 60’s do you consider the most emotionally vulnerable?

Why do children sometimes blame the “good” parent more than the parent of bad behavior? Do they favor what they perceive as power? Do they expect to be protected? Do they see the “good” parent as an enabler? Think of families where one parent is an alcoholic.

In the simplicity of DiLauro’s illustration, do you find a significance in the blank faces of the two sisters, and in the dolls -- one male, one female?

Think of the TV family sitcoms of the 1950's and 60's-- did they reflect the average family of those times?

General Questions to Consider

In “Our Gangster,” “The Art of Mothering,” and “Happy Hours,” the author did not give the first person narrator a name. Why?

There are four stories that involve sisters. Do you think stories involving a sister and a brother can be as poignant as those involving two sisters or two brothers?

There are four stories that involve grief. How is the grief in each one different from the grief in the others?

In what stories is “compromise” a contributing theme?

In what stories did you see the kindness of strangers? Might that unexpected emotional touch be what defines our humanity?

One story was extracted from a forthcoming novel, and slightly modified to stand on its own. Which one?

Is there a story you would like to see developed into a novel?

Of the thirteen stories of The Long Road which is your favorite? Least favorite?