[Nfbv-potomac-announce] Book Club discussion questions: Our souls at night

[Nancy Yeager]

Attached and below are discussion questions for the October 4 book club
meeting at the home of John and Sandy Halverson.

 

1.      What does the title mean?

2.      The novel begins with the word "and": "And then there was the day
when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters." What do you imagine came
before it?

3.      Kent Haruf was known for using simple, spare language to create
stories of great depth. How does the modest action in Our Souls at Night
open onto larger insights about getting older?

4.      It takes a considerable amount of courage for a woman of Addie's
generation to invite a man she hardly knows to sleep in her bed. What do you
think propelled her to do it?

5.      When Louis comes over for the first time, he knocks on her back door
in the name of discretion. Addie says, "I made up my mind I'm not going to
pay attention to what people think. I've done that too long-all my life. I'm
not going to live that way anymore. The alley makes it seem we're doing
something wrong or something disgraceful, to be ashamed of" (8). How does
her attitude influence Louis's?

6.      Both Louis and Addie have to contend with gossip about their
relationship. Who handles it better?

7.      What does Addie's friendship with Ruth show us about Addie's
character?

8.      Addie and Louis both had troubled marriages, but stayed married
until their partners died. How does that sense of propriety, of loyalty,
influence their relationship with each other?

9.      In describing his affair, Louis says, "I think I regret hurting
Tamara more than I do hurting my wife. "I failed my spirit or something"
(42). What does he mean by this?

10.  Why did Addie refuse to move after Connie's death? How did this
decision color Gene's reaction to his mother's late-in-life love affair?

11.  On page 52, Louis describes his relationship with Addie to his
daughter, "It's some kind of decision to be free. Even at our ages." Why
does he feel freer with Addie than he does alone?

12.  How does his behavior become more uninhibited as the novel progresses?

13.  How does Jamie's arrival deepen the connection between Addie and Louis?

14.  When Louis confesses that he wanted to be a poet, what effect does it
have on Addie's opinion of him? And on your opinion?

15.  Addie and Louis both have regrets about the way they raised their
children. How does that influence their relationship with Jamie?

16.  Why did Addie buy new clothes for her trips to Denver that she never
wears in Holt? What signal does it send to the reader?

17.  On page 145, Addie mentions the Denver Center for the Performing Arts
production of Benediction, based on the author's own novel. Addie and Louis
discuss the fact that it's set in Holt, the fictional town in which they
live. Why do you think Haruf slipped this into the story?

18.  At the end of that conversation, Addie says, "Who would have thought at
this time in our lives that we'd still have something like this. That it
turns out we're not finished with changes and excitements. And not all dried
up in body and spirit" (147). What point is Haruf making?

19.  Jamie's arrival ultimately leads to grave consequences. What is Gene
afraid of?

20.  Several times during the novel, Addie is described as being brave, but
she gives in to Gene's demands. Is this a brave act? What is she protecting?

21.  How would you describe the ending-as heartbreaking, hopeful, or
something else?

 

Nancy Yeager

 

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