[NFBV-Potomac-Announce] January Book Club Questions

[John Halverson]

Friends and Book Lovers,

A reminder that the next meeting of the Potomac Chapter book club will take place next Tuesday January 2 at the home of John and Sandy Halverson.  The address is 810 22nd Street South, Arlington Virginia 22202.  The meeting will begin at 7:00 pm.

Our book is the Nest.  The discussion questions are attached and below.

As usual we will order dinner for those who are interested at about 5:45.  Please arrive about 6:30 if you wish to  eat.  I will send a menu from a local delivery restaurant this weekend.  Please call me on 703-379-1141 or email me with your food choices on jwh100 at outlook.com<mailto:jwh100 at outlook.com>.  The cut off time for me to receive your orders is 5:00 pm on Tuesday January 2.

John


The Nest

1. THE NEST does not center on a sole protagonist, but rather a group of people. How did Sweeney's decision to structure her novel this way --- from the perspective of multiple characters, and in the third person, affect the way you identified with the characters? Did you find that it made you more or less sympathetic to each sibling's predicament, and in what way? Could you imagine yourself in any of their shoes?

2. Each sibling (as well as a few other characters, like Vinnie) keeps secrets --- not just from one another, but from the important people in their lives --- their partners, their children, their parents, their friends. Did you find that there were secrets that should have been revealed earlier in the story? Did you find that more secrets were kept for selfless or selfish reasons? Have you ever kept any important secrets? Would you do so again?

3. Most of the novel takes place in and around New York City --- the Plumb family grew up on Long Island, and three of the four Plumb siblings made Manhattan their home. A 9/11 subplot also weaves its way throughout the novel. What makes --- or doesn't make --- this novel feel like a New York novel to you? Did it bolster or contradict any of your opinions or beliefs about New York City?

4. At the beginning of the book, each of the siblings has a drink at a Manhattan watering hole before meeting the others. What do those moments reveal about them?

5. Each sibling seems to feel that they are the ones who need the money from the Nest the most. Did you find yourself leaning toward the pleas or the argument of one sibling in particular, and if so, who, and why?

6. How would you live your life if you knew you were to receive a fair amount of money down the line?

7. Did you like spending time with the characters? Does that matter? Were there those you were more excited to read about or with whom you could better identify?

8. Is Leo believable as a character? Do you have any sympathy for him?

9. Were the siblings wrong to make plans for the anticipated money? Do you blame them?

10. Talk, too, about the secondary characters and the roles they play in the story: grandchildren, Jack's husband, Melody's husband, Leo's girlfriend, and Bea's boss.

11. Ultimately, this book is about defining ourselves as individuals within a family (or even a career). How does each character learn who he or she is and what ultimately makes for a fulfilling life

12. How do the Plumb siblings' relationships --- both with one another, and as a group vs. Leo, evolve over the course of the novel --- and from adolescence to adulthood? If you have brothers or sisters, have your relationships changed, or are the dynamics still fundamentally the same?

13. Leo and Stephanie's romance shifts in significant ways over the course of the novel. In what ways does their relationship change, and in what ways is it affected by the opinions and decisions made by the rest of the family? Have you ever found yourself in a relationship where your partner and your family clashed with one another?

14. How did you feel about the novel's end, regarding Leo's fate? Did the epilogue satisfy enough of your desire for a 'happy ending,' or with Leo's absence, was it more melancholy than expected?

15. Do you feel that the bond of family trumps all --- including behavior? Do you think it's possible to rebuild trust once it has been broken? Why or why not? And are there some bonds that can become stronger than those of family?


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