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| Jeanne announces that they're all, "pointless," flips off her heels... |
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| and heads for Oregon's beach where she might drive her Bronco straight into the waves |
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Book Group Questions
1) Jeanne Stewart says, “To assume that a woman, any woman, is completely innocent is to be completely naďve.” Is she right?
2) What was your first impression of Jeanne? Do you like her? Is she a feminist or a traditionalist at heart? Early in the book she said her goal was to be a full-time mother with many children. Would she have found that role fulfilling?
3) Jeanne says that most women have secrets, “Pretty big ones, if I do say so myself.” What secrets did people have in this book? Is it true that most women have secrets? Do you have secrets? Do people tell you their secrets?
4) Which character did you most relate to in anger management class? What personal growth, if any, did you see in Bradon, Becky, Soman, Jeanne, and Emmaline? Was there a session that you would have liked to take part in? Was there any point in your life where you think an anger management class of this sort would have been helpful to you?
5) Soman says that he has a “sluggin’ problem.” He also dresses like a woman to relax, gets in bar fights, and falls in love with Becky, an ex-addict. Where do you see Soman in five years? Ten? Will he and Becky still be together?
6) Bradon King says, “Every year more black kids drop out of school. Every year no one cares. I think the schools are glad to see ‘em go. But then what happens to them? They’re teenagers, Jeanne. Kids. And their future is, at that moment, zero. Why doesn’t anyone care? Because the kids are black? You can damn well bet that if a bunch of rich, white sixteen year old girls all started dropping out of school and selling drugs on the corner that people would be screaming their heads off and demanding change. And change would happen.” Is that true? How would you describe Bradon?
7) After painting herself in anger management class Becky says, “I’m changing…Sometimes I feel small, sometimes I feel big. But I’m seeing color in my life for the first time and all I used to see was black.” Why do you think the author put a struggling, ex-drug addict in the book? How is she like Jeanne? How is she different? Will she stay off drugs? Can you relate to the blackness Becky experienced?
8) Is Jeanne a heavy drinker or is she an alcoholic? Do you sympathize with her or do you think she should have gotten a grip on herself years ago and stopped drinking? Why is she able to quit drinking by the end of the book? Is her transformation realistic?
9) Jeanne becomes very close to the Lopez family and is, herself, one quarter Hispanic. She clearly sympathizes with their plight and the plight of the migrant workers. What does this tell you about her personally? Where would she stand on the current immigration debate?
10) Did The Migrant Devil deserve his punishment? What did his murder, and the covering up of the crime, tell you about the Lopezes, Rosvita, and Jeanne? Do you admire Rosvita who, in order to protect the Lopezes, was willing to go to trial over The Migrant Devil’s murder? Or, do you think she was being colossally stupid? Do you think the Migrant Devil’s death will stay a secret?
11) This book deals with Jeanne’s drinking problems, her nervous breakdown, a murder, a rape, migrant workers living in appalling conditions, women being abused by the Migrant Devil, a bar fight, drug addiction, an assault by Jeanne against Slick Dick, a courtroom trial, and grief, and yet there were many humorous moments also. Is it a correct reflection of life? How has the author interlaced humor and tragedy?
12) Jeanne says, “All women, feminist or not, have a right to take action against condoms that are worn by cheating men.” Do you believe this? What does the peanut oil and condom incident tell you about Jeanne? Why do men cheat? Why do women cheat?
13) Jeanne assaulted Slick Dick. She admitted it. The jury found her not guilty. Do you think the jury made the right decision? Would you have found her not guilty? Was the verdict realistic?
14) Jeanne assaulted her ex-boyfriend with a condom and peanut oil knowing he had a slight allergy to peanut oil. She helped to bury the body of a man whom she thought her friend had shot. She actively participated in a bar fight. She committed perjury at her trial when she said she only put in two drops of peanut oil per condom. Is she a criminal?
15) Are Jeanne and Jay a good match for each other? What does she love about him and what does he represent to her? What does he love about her? Do you think that Jeanne will be a popular governor’s wife? Do you think she’ll like the role or balk at the constraints and the responsibility?
16) If Jeanne came to dinner at your house, what five pieces of advice would she give you about your life?
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