Buzz Book Club: Amy and Isabelle, Section One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:30:21 PST

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,

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 PST

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,

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.