Where are you in Wicked? Do you want me to post some discussion questions? Do you want to post your own? Is anyone able to read in this heat?

I am addicted to this book! Where are you in your reading? Can we be through Part 3 by the end of the weekend? Or is by next week a better time frame? I think a lot of discussion will open up when we finish the book, but for now, chew on this question!

What is the significance of Elphaba’s green skin? What are the rewards of being so different, and what are the drawbacks? In Oz - and in the real world - what are the meanings associated with the color green, and are any of them pertinent to Elphaba’s character?

*From the Reader’s Group Guide

What is your response to the story so far? Are you interested in the characters?

Can we be through Part II - Gillikin by next Sunday, May 25? Let me know if you need more time!

Don’t forget that you can post questions or thoughts to stand alone, or you could write a comment in response to a post. Write away! Hope you are enjoying the book, so far!

Our next book will be Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Let’s try to have the first part, Munchkinlanders, done this weekend (Sunday, May 18). Please post any comments or insights! Let’s make this a busy blog!

Also, let’s see if we can get more discussion going about Empire Falls. There is so much to think about!

Check out this awesome blog!

http://bookgroupbuzz.booklistonline.com/

Why does Tick befriend John Voss? How does her sense of responsibility for him compare to Miles’s feelings, both as a child and as a grown man, about Cindy Whiting? Are the differences attributable to the circumstances that bring each pair together, or do they reflect something deeper about Tick’s and Miles’s morality and their abilities to empathize with other people? What other incidents demonstrate Tick’s understanding of what other people need? Why is she unable to treat Janine in the same comfortable, non-judgmental way she treats Miles and Max Roby?

From the almost unimaginable cruelty of John Voss’s parents to Mrs. Whiting’s coldness toward Cindy, to Grace’s withdrawal from David (and to some extent Miles) when she joins the Whiting household, the novel contains several examples of the emotional and physical harm parents inflict on their children. Why do you think Russo made this a central theme of the book? Does it adequately explain or even justify behavior you would otherwise find completely unacceptable?

What adjectives would you use to describe Empire Falls? How does Russo make the story of a dying town (with more than its share of losers) entertaining and engaging? Did you find most, if not all, of the characters sympathetic in some way?

What does Empire Falls provide that its residents might not be able to find anywhere else? Does living in a small town necessarily limit the satisfaction people get out of life? Is Miles right when he thinks, “After all, what was the whole wide world but a place for people to yearn for their hearts’ impossible desires, for those desires to become entrenched in defiance of logic, plausibility, and even the passage of time” [p. 295]? Which characters might have led better, more fulfilling lives if they had moved away from Empire Falls?

It is midnight, and although I have been tired since about 7:30 this evening, I am still up. I picked up Empire Falls when I got into bed, thinking I would read a couple pages and then fall asleep. Boy, was I wrong. I believe everyone is now done with the book, but just in case someone isn’t, I won’t spoil anything. All I can say is “WOW!” That last section really packed a punch or two (or twelve!) I am thoroughly impressed with this novel, and will definitely be looking to read other books by Richard Russo. Now, to the task at hand!

What do you think? There are so many different themes to talk about with this novel, it’s hard to pick a direction. Here is another discussion question to get us going. If you have another idea or theme to examine, by all means, post away!

“In contemplating the past year, Tick says, “Just because things happen slow doesn’t mean you’ll be ready for them. If they happened fast, you’d be alert for all kinds of suddenness. . . “Slow” works on an altogether different principle, on the deceptive impression that there’s plenty of time to prepare” [p. 441]. How does this relate to the novel as a whole and the way it is structured? Why has Russo chosen Tick to express this insight?”