Book Club Meeting 4th Selection
Tuesday, July 28
O&A Book Club’s 4th selection is ‘Grief’ by Andrew Holleran.
You’ll find used copies available at Biblio.com using the link below (which kicks back 5% to outings & adventures)
Description
Reeling from the recent death of his invalid mother, an exhausted, lonely professor comes to our nation’s capital to escape his previous life. What he finds there-in his handsome, solitary landlord; in the city’s somber mood and sepulchral architecture; and in the strange and impassioned journals of Mary Todd Lincoln-shows him unexpected truths about America and loss.
Our hosts for the evening have offered us their private dining facility at no charge, lets show our support with big turnout for an Italian dinner! Click here to view their menu.
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Hi Everyone!!
Hopefully you are enjoying “Grief” — ok, maybe that sounds a bit strange….But I think you will find the book to be interesting and full of good things for us to discuss. I especially loved Holleran’s descriptions of DC (having just moved from there last year.)
Let’s get this disussion going….any thoughts or questions you’d like to share?
Can I say “over the hill”?
Jim
just started reading it, but the author certainly has a flair for a turn of a phrase
senator has read more than i have & he reads a few lines out that we both find mullable
hope it rains this weekend– it seems perfect to curl up with
looking forward to seeing everyone tuesday
p.s. everyone on both sides of the bay was so proud of robert & all his efforts re channel h8 protest
AARGH..I screwed up my schedule! I planned another meeting for tomorrow night…shoot! Book was good….didn’t like the ending. Looking forward to all of the discussion reaction!
Let me know about the next book!!!!
Thanks,
Adam
we’ll be there & bringing a friend
greatly looking forward to it, as always
Great book, time for a more… uplifting read next month!
Hi All!
As we’ve done in the past-here are some “suggestions” for discussing our current book. Please use them only as a guide, and bring your own thoughts and questions to make our conversation as rich as possible. I’m looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow night
Robert Jaquay, your “Grief” facilitator.
1. In his introduction to the recently published book..”Chronicles of a Plague”, Holleran speaks to a comment a reader made, accusing him of “something the Jesuits call “morose delectation”-an addiction to melan-choly.” Regarding “Grief” –do you think this label was justified?
2. What are the significant themes in this book?
3. One of the definitions of grief found in this book is as follows: “Grief is what you have after someone you love dies. It’s the only thing left of that person” How else is grief defined? (Did anyone think that the book could also be titled: “Guilt”?
4. Why is our narrator unnamed? What does that represent, if anything? What is the significance of Frank being the only named character?
5. What is Frank’s role in this book? How do you find his humor?
6. One reviewer called “Grief” a “heady, bittersweet aperitif”. as it, in effect, “whets your appetite” for “for an entire meal of the author’s other work.” What do you think of Hollerans writing style? How would you describe it?
7. As a “survivor” of the AIDS Epidemic, is our narrator suffering from “survivor’s guilt”? Does he feel he is like the ghosts he sees everywhere? What passages illustrate this?
8. Images of art and music are woven through the fabric of this work-to what end?
9. Why is Mary Todd Lincoln’s expression of grief so significant to our narrator and to the work as a whole? As for Mary Todd Lincoln…Frank refers to her as a banshee, the landlord refers to her as a “conniving, paranoid shopoholic”…How does our narrator see her? How do you see her?
10. What is the significance of spending a good portion of the story talking about the dog-and her existence? What does the dog represent?
11. How do you feel about the narrator’s choice NOT to reveal to his mother that he is, in fact, gay?
12. “As he walks, he keeps an eye peeled for landmarks in the secret history of bereavement.” What is our narrator searching for? Why must he walk?, and why at night?
13. What is the ultimate decision our narrator needs to make? Is he dead? , or think he is dead? How does he feel about being alive? Is his choice satisfying? Inevitable? What?
14. What is the relationship between the narrator and his landlord? How does that relationship evolve throughout the book? How are the characters different/the same?
15. At the end of the book, the narrator returns home, drops to his knees and says a prayer of gratitude for being brought home. For what is he grateful?
16. Is this story real about grief from the loss of a person (mother?) or is it really about the loss of a community (AIDS) and/or a lifestyle (aging/non-sexual relationships)?
17. How does the setting — Washington D.C. — contribute to the story? Does the city actually become a character?
18. Is the story realistic? Could any group of characters really be so detached from their lives and the people around them to live in such an antiseptic way? Is it possible that the narrator’s perspective is clouded by the grief he feels at the loss of his mother?
1. Suggestions for future selections:
– Graphic novel: “Stuck Rubber Baby” by Howard Cruse (creator of the
long-running gay comic Wendel)… an INCREDIBLE book, BTW;
– Nonfiction: “Heartlands: A Gay Man’s Odyssey Across America” by
Darrell Yates;
– Nonfiction: “In Search of Gay America: Women and Men in a Time of Change”
by Neil Miller;
– Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay Spirit and Nature with Sixteen Writers,
Healers, Teachers and Visionaries” by Mark Thompson (will generate LOTSA
debate!)
2. Mary Todd Lincoln or Judy Garland: who was the more tragic diva? Discuss.