BuzzSugar

Buzz Book Club: The End of Amy and Isabelle

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:30:47 -0800

We've reached the end of Amy and Isabelle and I found this final section gratifying. I feel so connected to these characters and Elizabeth Strout does a wonderful job illuminating the tensions between mother and daughter.

Before we chat about the end, here's a recap of how the Book Club goes: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, has been every Friday in January). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Stay tuned for the announcement of my February book club selection, and to discuss the final section of Amy and Isabelle, in which we read from the start of chapter 19 to the end of the book, read more.

I was glad to finally hear all about Isabelle's life before all this - how Amy was conceived, etc. It made me like her more, whereas before I sometimes considered her a little snobbish in the way she seemed to regard others. Did your feelings or opinions of the characters change over the course of the book?
I also loved the warm friendships that are formed between Isabelle, Bev and Dottie at the end. It felt very real and genuine to me, like the way friendships form in real life. What did you think of this part with the three women toward the end?
Do you like the way the book ended? Would you like to have read more about what happens when Amy finally meets her half-siblings, or about Isabelle's marriage to the kind pharmacist? Or were you satisfied with the ending?
The book has been made into a TV movie starring Elisabeth Shue as Isabelle and Hannah Hall as Amy. I kept picturing Amanda Seyfried as Amy and either Holly Hunter or Patricia Clarkson as Isabelle. Who would you cast in these roles?

Buzz Book Club: Amy and Isabelle, Section Two

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 09:30:55 -0800

We're coming into the home stretch in Amy and Isabelle and I'm completely sucked into this story. Strout has a lovely way with words and I'm now so invested in Amy and Isabelle's lives, I almost don't want the novel to end. I have such sympathy for these characters and I'm reluctant to part with them! But for now we're still in the thick of things, so after the jump let's discuss what's going on.

Here's a recap of how the Buzz Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in January). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Of course, you are always welcome to read beyond the weekly chapters, but please don't spoil anything in the comments! After the jump you'll find some questions that struck me as I read this section.

The next section: Read from the start of chapter 19 to the end of the book. We'll chat about this section a week from today, January 30.

To discuss the first section of Amy and Isabelle, in which we read from chapter eight through chapter 18, read more.

At this point, we now know how far Amy's relationship with Mr. Robertson went, and Isabelle is mortified to find out about it from Avery Clark. For whom do you feel more sympathy: Amy or Isabelle? On the one hand, Isabelle feels stung by Amy's lying and that must be a terrible feeling - along with the helplessness she must feel knowing that a much older man took advantage of her daughter. On the other hand, Amy must be getting some totally screwed up messages about sexuality from all this, and she's at such a tender age. Personally, I might feel sorriest for Amy.
Otherwise, who's your favorite character in the book? I have a soft spot in my heart for Fat Bev, though I also like Stacy. She's like a rougher, chain-smoking Juno.
Speaking of Stacy, it's intriguing that when the truth about her pregnancy comes out, the school's staff members are falling all over themselves trying to seem "progressive" and cool with it. One might think everyone would be scandalized and awkward rather than treat Stacey like a hero. What do you make of this? Especially when contrasted to Amy's own scandalous situation that brings so much shame when her mother finds out about it?
Oddly, chapter 10 begins with a segment told entirely from Dr. Burrows's (Stacey's dad) point of view. We gain a flash of insight into his thoughts but this doesn't seem to happen again - with him or with any other character. Is this just random? Or does this segment serve a larger purpose?
There are references to hippies and bell-bottoms, bra-burning and consciousness raising - but the time period (the social or political climate) is never fully described. We just get little details woven into the narrative here and there. Do you like this? Or do you wish the period in which the story is set were a more prominent aspect of the story?

Buzz Book Club: Amy and Isabelle, Section One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:30:21 -0800

Hello, Buzz Book Club readers! How are you enjoying Elizabeth Strout's novel so far? I'm already absorbed in these characters' lives and I like the whole "small town gossip" feel of it. We'll get into a deeper discussion after the jump.

First, here's a recap of how the Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in January). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Of course, you are always welcome to read beyond the weekly chapters, but please don't spoil anything in the comments! After the jump you'll find some questions that struck me as I read this section.

The next assignment: Read from the start of chapter eight to the end of chapter 18 (stop before chapter 19). We'll chat about this section a week from today, January 23.

To discuss the first section of Amy and Isabelle, in which we read from the start of the book through chapter seven, read more.

Right off the bat, when Fat Bev notices Amy's hair has been cut short, I was intrigued. I think it is such a smart way for the author to immediately add a little page-turning suspense. What about you? Did that mean something to you right away?
I'm intrigued by the brief mention of how Isabelle came to Shirley Falls, her wedding ring, the husband that died, etc. Do you get the sense her history will be important to the story?
The run-in with Barbara Rawley at the A&P is revealing. That feeling Amy has of pitying her mother's nonexistent social life and sort of hating her for it at the same time is really relatable. Do you think the author captures the conflicting emotions of being a teenager (and the complex feelings that a teenage daughter has toward her mother) with this scene?
Speaking of Amy's mother, how do you perceive Isabelle as a character? Is she sympathetic as a single mom who's a little socially awkward and shy? Or do you find her embarrassingly pathetic due to things like her secret crush on Avery?
Finally, this section ends with Amy giving Mr. Robertson a kiss on the cheek. Do you feel like this guy is shady? Have his actions, thus far, been inappropriate? Do you think the way he talks to his students is motivational or harmful?

Buzz Book Club: Amy and Isabelle

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:36:48 -0800

Hello, Buzz Book Club readers! It's time to officially kick off a new year of reading together and I've chosen a book based on a resolution of mine to read the books on my shelf before I buy a new one. Over the holidays I heard a glowing review of author Elizabeth Strout's newest book and was just about to buy it when I realized I had her older bestselling novel, Amy and Isabelle, on my shelf already.

The book was a hit back when it first debuted in the late '90s so some of you may have already read it and can chime in along with us newbies. I came across a reviewer's description of the novel that says it "recalls not only the gritty realism of Peyton Place, but something of the elegiac charm of Our Town, as well" which struck me as just the kind of fiction I'd like to pick up after a couple months of memoir reading.

For those of you new to my book club format, here's how it works: I announce a new book each month. Every week I suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in January). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few discussion-provoking questions for you to respond to in the comments section.

To find out what Amy and Isabelle is all about and to get the first assignment, read more.

The synopsis for Amy and Isabelle reads:
"Amy and Isabelle explores the secrets of sexuality that jeopardize the love between a mother and her daughter. Amy Goodrow, a shy high school student in a small mill town, falls in love with her math teacher, and together they cross the line between understandable fantasy and disturbing reality. When discovered, this emotional and physical trespass brings disgrace to Amy's mother, Isabelle, and intensifies the shame she feels about her own past."

The first assignment: Read from the start of the book through chapter seven (stop before chapter eight). We'll discuss this section next Friday, Jan. 16.