Now, four of the original dozen reconnect at the famed Peabody Hotel in Memphis for a somber purpose. They will cruise the mighty river again-this time on the Belle of Natchez – to honor the memory of Margaret ‘Baby’ Ballou and commit her ashes to the ages.

The Old Maid School Teacher

Ill-at-ease in the hotel’s elegant furnishings, Harriet Holding, considers leaving almost upon arrival.  Like the novel’s acclaimed author, Lee Smith, Harriet teaches community writing workshops for women.

Even though men have found her attractive over the years, Harriet has shied away from attachments and remains unmarried at 53.  A scholarship student at Mary Scott College, Harriet identified with the cafeteria help that she worked with rather than her  fellow classmates.

The Southern Belle

From outward appearances, Courtney Gray Ralston has the perfect life:  a handsome, successful husband, four beautiful children and status in her community.

But on closer examination,  we find that her silver-haired mate strays repeatedly forcing Courtney to find love with Gene, a 300-pound Elvis impersonator.  And when her florist lover issues an ultimatum -  divorce Hawk and marry me or else – Courtney’s world begins to spin out of its perfectly balanced orbit.

The Romance Novelist

Anna Todd enters the plot hidden under layers of makeup and clothes, topped off by her trademark black hat and enormous sunglasses.

One wonders if the romance writer is seeking anonymity from her adoring fans or is just hiding from memories of her failed marriage, still born child and 12-year liaison with Lou.

Even when Harriet asks, “Anna, Anna, whatever has happened to you?” few  details come to light; not even her real name.

The Artist

Last to arrive, Catherine Wilson, a direct, down-to-earth sculptor enters with her third husband, Russell, in tow.  Born to a life of privilege, Catherine remembers being more interested in her upcoming engagement party than the original raft trip.

Instilled with the idea that the whole point of college was marriage, Catherine was an indifferent student excelling only in art classes.

When her second husband, Steve, was killed in a robbery at the 7-Eleven, Catherine began sculpting large concrete women with mosaic dresses and hats to support her four children.

‘Baby’

The central figure, ‘Baby’, appears only in the other character’s memories since an auto accident claimed her life just before Christmas of the previous year.  Smith subtly plants doubt by recalling a failed suicide attempt during college.

Springing from a very wealthy Southern family, Margaret Ballou never played by the rules leaving her roommate Harriet to cover up her many indiscretions.   Less than studious, Baby’s main goal was to graduate with an engagement ring.

The driving force behind the original raft trip, Baby considered herself a poet.  As the story progresses,  Smith inserts examples of her work in between the prose of the novel.

The Last Girls, a mixture of  college experiences, interspersed with the grown-up world of marriage, infidelity, health crises and career moves, leaves the reader puzzled as to time and place.  One reviewer suggested that chapter headings would have cleared up some of the confusion.

A natural storyteller, Lee Smith, tells the story in the same convoluted way that Southerners do, “using intimate asides, gossipy digressions and personal observations,” just like everyday conversation.

Smith’s sense of humor shines through with the quirky fellow passengers and Catherine’s attorney husband.  A fellow drinker falls senseless from the adjoining bar stool without Russell ever shifting his attention from the Weather Channel.

There’s plenty to talk about:  thirty discussion questions can be found here.

Often termed sentimental, Berg draws an accurate picture of grief – “the doubts, the dailiness, the decisions, the daring to dream again”.

While some reviewers feel that Berg has a tendency to write scenes that are a little bit far fetched with predictable textbook characters, they still praise her eye for detail, simplicity, and beauty.

Two people, having read the same book, can come away with opposite opinions of its characters, plot and setting.  I suggest you decide for yourself by sampling one or more of Berg’s books listed below.  Happy reading!!

Durable Goods
(1993), 12-year-old Katie, struggles with the loss of her mother while  being dragged from town to town by her abusive father.

Discussion Questions here.

Talk Before Sleep
(1994),  a nurse caring for a good friend slowly dying with cancer.

Discussion Questions here.

Range of Motion
(1995), deals with the experiences of a comatose man

Discussion Questions here.

The Pull of the Moon
(1996),  Nan’s story, as she travels cross-country seeking to reinvent herself.

Joy School
(1997), a continuation of Katie’s story, as she tastes romance for the first time.

Discussion questions here:

What We Keep
(1998), a girl’s abandonment by her mother.

Discussion Questions here:

Until the Real Thing Comes Along
(1999),  a woman’s love for a gay man.

Discussion Questions here:

Open House
(2000),  after the departure of her husband and a spending spree at Tiffany’s, Sam  must  reconstruct a life for herself and11-year old son

Discussion questions here.

Never Change
(2001), a nurse treats a childhood acquaintance with an incurable illness.

True to Form
(2002), a revisit with Katie’s during the coming of age process.

Say When
(2003), the damaging effects of infidelity on the marriage of Ellen and Griffin written from the husband’s  point-of-view.

The Art of Mending
(2004), a family reunion forces a 50-something “quilt artist”  to face some long-standing secrets.

Discussion questions here.

The Year of Pleasures
(2005), a Boston widow fulfills her dying husband’s dream of starting a new life in the Midwest.

Discussion Questions here:

We Are All Welcome Here
(2006), together a polio victim and her 13-year-old daughter work miracles in the summer of 1964

Discussion Questions here.

The Handmaid and the Carpenter
(2006), inexperienced teenagers, Mary and Joseph, struggle to honor family tradition despite unusual circumstances.

Dream When You’re Feeling Blue
(2007), three Irish Catholic sisters keep the home fires burning for their young men fighting in WWII.

Discussion Questions here.

Home Safe (2009), suffering from writer’s block,  a popular and prolific author struggles with her husband’s sudden death.

Discussion Questions here:

The Last Time I Saw You
(2010), former classmates reconnect with one another—and themselves—at their fortieth high school reunion.

Which is your favorite and why?

Book #1 in Nancy Turner’s trilogy introduces the reader to a young girl who matures into a strong independent woman while traveling by wagon train and settling in the Arizona Territory.

In the year 1881, calamities come in many forms:  unfortunate accidents, Indian attacks and sickness plague the travelers as well as the unscrupulous bandits and ruffians who meet them at every turn of the wagon’s wheels.

Because 17 year-old Sarah Prine is uneducated, nearly illiterate, her early diary entries are peppered with spelling and grammatical errors making a slow, often painful reading process.

But when she acquires a wagon load of books, her education takes off as does her writing ability.

The author’s use of first-person narrative draws you into the story laying open Sarah’s thoughts, pain, despair, and insecurities for all to experience first hand.

One reviewer commented, “I cared so much that I dreaded turning the pages for fear of the horrific fate that could befall any of the characters at any time”.

The reader cheers as Sarah overcomes the obstacles barring her way to love, marriage and establishing a family in the far flung, often lawless, western territories of 1881-1902 while always, always waiting for disaster to strike as it so often does.

Readers recommended Sarah’s Quilt, the continuing story of an extraordinary pioneer woman and her 3-year struggle with drought on the family ranch.

Book #3, The Star Garden, finds Sarah, at 43, with grown sons, and the center of a large, unruly family. Living in a house built by the man she refused to marry and courted by her neighbor, Sarah is not so sure she wants to be a wife again.

Discussion Questions for These Is My Words follow:

1. Suggest why an illiterate girl would find it so important to keep a diary of her Arizona trip and life afterward.

2. Explain, if you can, why the Lawrence family shunned Sarah after she saved the lives of daughters, Savannah, Alice and Ulyssa.

3. If you had to debate the issue of the pioneers fighting the Indians to save their own lives and the lives of their families, which side would you take and why?

4. Whenever Sarah measures up against her sister-in-law, Savannah, she always finds herself wanting. Agree? Disagree?

5. A genuine thirst for knowledge compels Sarah to learn and grow as an individual. Who helps her? What does she learn and from whom?

6.Talk about Sarah’s marriages. What makes her attractive to Jimmy Reed? Jack Elliot?

7.What ultimately brings Jack and Sarah together? Sarah’s transformation? Jack’s transformation?

8. Any idea why Jack refused to resign her army commission leaving Sarah and the children alone and vulnerable?

9. Does Sarah’s picture of the West challenge or confirm your ideas of life on the frontier? Think of the many losses, the hardships and how the settlers surmounted them. Are we, in modern times, as tenacious and courageous as Sarah and her contemporaries?

10. Although Sarah’s story is fictional (there is no actual diary according to the author), it is based on stories about the author’s great grandmother. Do you feel the story is realistic or highly romanticized? Is Sarah credible? If so, what makes her story convincing?

11. Would you read Sarah’s Quilt or The Star Garden? Why or Why not?

Sometimes the evening will feature the movie version of a favorite book and other times the high point will be a game of trivia drawn from the year’s reading list.

For December ‘09, Anne compiled a jeopardy game using information from the following books:

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

84, Charing Cross Road

Wish You Well

The Persian Pickle Club

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Third Angel

Back When We Were Grownups

The categories and the questions were as follows:

The British Isles

1. A channel island between England and France where our August selection took place: (Guernsey Island)
2. The Marks & Company address Helene Hanff sends her reading requests to: (84 Charing Cross Rd)
3. Lucy Green is given a dog while visiting this country:  (Scotland)
4. Biddy, Patch & No No’s mother lives in this country:  (England)
5. The Lion Park Hotel in London plays a big role in this book : (The Third Angel)

Food & Drink

1. Precious Ramotswe enjoys this particular brew:  (bush tea)
2. Rebecca Davitch gets this spilled all over her shoes by her future mother-in-law:  (ham)
3. Dessert was always provided by the weekly hostess of this group:
(Persian Pickle Quilt Club)
4. Will Allenby’s nightly dinner: (chili)
5. Tinned ham and eggs were some of the gifts Helene sent because of this in 84 Charing Cross Rd: (rationing)

Mysteries

1. Besides coal, this other fuel was also discovered in the Cardinal coal mine:
(natural gas)
2. Ella Crooks husband Ben disappeared and was found here: (buried in a field)
3. The problem with Michael Macklin’s room on the 7th floor of the Lion Park Hotel: (haunted/ghost -of Teddy Healy)
4. Mma Makutsi figures out that Mr J.L.B. Matekoni’s house is being used as this: (illegal bar – shebeen)
5. Mma Ramotswe’s secret that she can’t bring herself to tell anyone:
(she thinks she is still married to her 1st husband)

Friends, Relatives & Others

1. Mma Ramotswe’s office manager proudest achievement:
(97% on her final exam from Botswana Secretarial College)
2. Louisa Mae & Oz Cardinal go to live with this relative when their parents died:  (great-grandmother)
3. Juliet & Dawsey decide to do this:  (get married)
4. How Helene Hanff and Frank Doel kept in touch:  (letter writing/post/mail)
5. The gift Zepha leaves for Queenie when she and Blue leave suddenly:
(Quilt- called Road to California)

Name That Book

Identify book by location

1. Takes place in Appalachia – (Wish You Well)
2. Kansas – (Persian Pickle Club)
3. New York and London – (84 Charing Cross Rd)
4. Baltimore – (Back When We Were Grownups)
5. Botswana – (In The Company of Cheerful Ladies)

Note: Elly won the prize for the most correct answers.

** To facilitate this year-end trivia bash, refer to the discussion questions distributed monthly.

What does your bookclub do for fun?

***Thanks to Anne for sharing the jeopardy book trivia with my readers!!

Unfortunately, I’ve read only five.  (Must have been living under a rock for the past 9 or 10 years.)

They are:

46   Middlesex
by Jeffrey Eugenides (2002)

An American epic concerning three generations of the Greek Stephanides family and their lives in Detroit. Calliope is a girl with no breasts and a forest of unwanted hair who finds that s/he is a hermaphrodite — raising questions about sexuality and gender.  (waste of time)

30 The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini (2003)

Afghanistan before the Russian invasion is the setting for a timeless story of betrayal and redemption. Amir, the quiet son of a wealthy businessman, lets down his friend Hassan, the son of a servant, at a crucial moment. Years later he returns to Kabul to make amends. (good read)

25 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon (2003)

A runaway bestseller hailed as a successor to The Catcher in the Rye for its sensitive depiction of an autistic teenager. Christopher is 15, a maths genius with a terror of ordinary social situations, whose investigation of a dog’s death reveals truths about his parents. (strange, yet interesting)

10 The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown (2003)

A murder in the Louvre, and the clues are all hidden in the works of Leonardo. Some love it, some hate it,but you can’t deny that its mix of conspiracy, riddles and action dominated the decade. (not my favorite)

9  Atonement
by Ian McEwan (2001)

A foolish act of bravado and a simple act of conceit at a 1930s house party combine to spoil three lives. Can amends be made? You either love or hate the postmodern twist at the end, but you cannot deny the brilliance of the descriptive set-pieces. (freaked me out!)

If you’re interested in the entire list click here.

Which books have you read?  Let me know.

*Be sure to check out some of the comments from readers!!!

IN-4/3050
Holiday Character Ruler Bookmarks
$4.99 48 Piece(s)

Made of translucent vinyl. (4 dozen per unit) 5 1/4″ © OTC

Dog lovers might prefer one of these:IN-12/2215Plush Dog Bookmarks$5.99 Per Dozen

Each cute pooch comes on a satin ribbon and is ready to guard where you left off! 11″© OTC

For the crafty bookclubber, try this one:

IN-41/1228Christmas Bookmark Craft Kit
$4.99 Makes 12

With self-adhesive jewels and felt! Makes 12. Approx. 3 1/2″© OTC

For a Mom’s book club:

IN-57/2388
24 Fabulous Foam Mom Bookmarks
$5.99 Makes 24

Bookmarks, 3 1/4″ x 4″; shapes, 3/8″ – 1 3/4″.Ribbon included.© OTC

For that personal touch:

IN-4/46980
Personalized Holiday Pencils With Bookmarks
$7.99 24 Piece(s)

Each 7 1/2″ wooden pencil comes with a 6 1/2″ paper bookmark. Personalize them with 1 line of 30 characters/spaces. (2 dozen per unit) © OTC

Go to Oriental Trading Company to see all eleven pages of available bookmarks.

Can you guess which one I’m giving to all my bookish friends?

]]> http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/how-to/quick-gifts/feed 0 http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/questions/book-club-christmas http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/questions/book-club-christmas#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 19:32:55 +0000 Linda http://www.bookclubcompanion.com/?p=1831 The Christmas season has often times been described as the most wonderful time of the year.

Strangers become friends, smiles grower wider and  warmer as all of God’s creatures prepare to celebrate once again the birth of the Christ Child in a Bethlehem stable.

There’s no better way to observe this most joyous season than by sharing a warm and wonderful book from one of the following authors:

Richard Paul Evans

The Christmas Box Collection: The Christmas Box, Timepiece, and The Letter

In The Christmas Box, we meet an elderly widow, MaryAnne Parkin.

Her advertisement for a live-in couple answers the prayers of a struggling young family crammed into a drafty one-bedroom apartment in the foothills of the snow-clad Wasatch mountain range.

The Evans gain as much or more than MaryAnne from their living arrangement and almost 4-year-old Jenna finds a grandmother in residence.

TimePiece, the prequel to The Christmas Box, chronicles five years in the life of David Parkin, through his marriage to MaryAnne and the birth of their daughter, Andrea.

The Letter finds the Parkins 20 years later as they struggle to cope with the tragic loss of their daughter and the slow deterioration of their once happy marriage.

Although Evans did not compose these three books as a trilogy, each book relates to the other two but does not have to be read in any certain order.
Some readers characterized the stories as syrupy while other lauded their refreshing innocence.

Fannie Flagg

A Redbird Christmas

Searching for a milder climate in which to live out his final days, Oswald T. Campbell (named for the soup) lands in a small town located somewhere near Elberta, Lillian and Mobile.

Maybe his life-long streak of bad luck has finally turned as Oswald settles in and interacts with the citizens of the fictional town of Lost River, Alabama. Jack, the red bird residing at the neighborhood grocery, and Patsy, the young crippled child, figure prominently in this character’s new chance on life.

Discussion questions can be found here.

Kate Jacobs

Knit the Season

In this feel-good holiday novel, Jacobs reconnects the reader with the characters from her two previous novels in the hustle and bustle of New York at Christmas time.

To fully appreciate this yuletide offering, The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two should be read first for the back story and character development.

As a gift to faithful readers, knitting patterns and some delicious recipes have been added by the author.

But don’t forget two of my timeless favorites:

Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

Discussion questions for A Christmas Carol can be found here.

O. Henry (William Sydney Porter)

The Gift of the Magi

Click here for reflection questions for Gift of the Magi.

In between all of these extravagant holiday preparations, she still  finds time to pen a yearly Christmas novel ever since the early 1990s.

This post will highlight five of Macomber’s holiday gems:

The Christmas Basket (2002)

This small, 240-page novel features an exaggerated, laughable version of  the historic Hatfield and McCoy feud.

When 28-year-old, Noelle, could avoid her hometown of Rose, Oregon, no longer she hopped a plane in Dallas.   Wouldn’t you know it, she just happened to encounter Thom, the high school sweetheart that jilted her 10 years ago, on the same flight.

Slowly the couple rekindles their fractured romance among the mom-against-mom cat fight which ensues when the two women must cooperate to finish a service project for the town’s Century Club.

Some readers felt that the mother’s antics while shopping and filling the Salvation Army Christmas baskets more interesting than the plot involving the two main characters. Agreeably, the supermarket demolition derby  and the toy-throwing incident at the local mall are not to be missed.

One reader described the story’s content as: “no meat on this bone,” while another asked for a more, in-depth explanation of the 10-year-old misunderstanding that  had separated Noelle and Thom.

But it’s all in good fun; so curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy this feel-good Christmas story.

When Christmas Comes (2004)

Just like  the movie, The Holiday, houses are swapped and romance ensues during the Christmas holidays.

But Macomber adds a few twists of her own making to When Christmas Comes.  Instead of a Cameron Diaz and a Kate Winslet exchange, it’s Emily, a lonely widow, and Charles, a stuffy Harvard professor.

Ironically enough Charles, who loathes the holidays, lands in Leavenworth, Washington, the Christmas capitol of the world.

Upon arrival in Boston, Emily discovers  her daughter has already left town for a  Floridian Christmas with the biker boyfriend.  The plot thickens when a meddling mother in Arizona sends elder son, Ray, to investigate the gold-digger answering Charles’ phone.

In the company of Santa and six elves, Faith, descends on Leavenworth to cheer up single mom, Emily, only to find Charles the curmudgeon in residence.  You get the picture.

One reader criticized Macomber for cramming too many underdeveloped characters into the book.  Another found the character of Charles, “cold one minute and kissing Faith the next,” unbelievable.

It’s a hilarious combination of Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road and The Holiday all rolled into 240 pages. Don’t miss it!

Read more about Tara Road here.

Christmas Letters (2006)

When Christmas letter writer, K. O. discovers that the despised Dr. Wynn Jeffries lives in her building, she flips out.

Not only has the good doctor advised parents to downplay Christmas, but her sister’s strict adherence to his “Free Child” methodology has turned K. O.’s once lovely 5-year-old nieces into disobedient ruffians.

Tricked into a dinner date with the noted child psychologist, the conflicted  Katherine O’Connor uncovers a courteous, funny and sweet companion. Need I go on?  An astute reader can probably figure out the rest of the plot.

However, a plot twist involves Wynn’s ex-hippie father, and the quirky neighbor, LaVonne, who reads kitty litter and Raisin Bran to foretell the future.

Some readers thought the conflict resolution too short and unrealistic.  Another mourned the loss of the secondary characters in the final chapters of the book.

In the end, two romances prove better than one especially during the Christmas season.

For tips on writing Christmas letters click here.

Where Angels Go (2007)

Part of Macomber’s angels series, this novel chronicles the misadventures of Christmas angels Shirley, Goodness and Mercy.

Mercy’s task involves helping an elderly man convince his stubborn wife to pack up their home of a lifetime and enter an assisted living facility before he departs the earth.

Goodness takes on the job of helping reclusive Beth find true love while playing a video game with her online partner.

Lastly, Shirley has to find a way to satisfy Carter’s greatest Christmas wish – a dog of his very own.

Book number 3 in Macomber’s Christmas angel series, sparkles  with child-like wonder for the older crowd. Somewhat predictable, but a great stocking stuffer!!

A Cedar Cove Christmas (2008)

Mary Jo Wyse finds herself in much the same predicament as her namesake from the New Testament–pregnant and not married.

Two weeks before her due date, this mother-to-be travels to Cedar Cove where the prospective father had promised to meet her.

Since the town is bursting with Christmas Eve visitors and there’s no room at the inn, librarian Grace Harding offers a room over her stable housing all of the animals for Cedar Cove’s living Nativity.  Watch out for the camel – he bites!!

When David is a no-show and  baby Noelle decides to make an early appearance, it’s young paramedic, Mack McAfee who saves the day.  The arrival of the three Wyse men, Mary Jo’s overprotective brothers, rounds out the story even down to their gifts, modern day versions of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Macomber’s 2008 Christmas offering is actually the 9th book in the Cedar Cove series and should be read before 92 Pacific Boulevard.  If you prefer, it can stand alone.

Macomber’s yultide stories are a fast read, 240-300 pages, filled with warmth, joy and laughter.  Pick up one during the upcoming Christmas season.

Watch for Mrs. Miracle, Macomber’s 2005 Christmas offering, as a Hallmark channel movie presentation on December 5th.

Hard to believe isn’t it that the 1849 death and subsequent burial of Edgar Allan Poe drew such little attention?  Reports say that most friends and followers did not learn of the funeral proceedings until the following day.

To rectify this grave injustice and commemorate the bicentennial of the author’s birth, the Baltimore Poe Society staged an elaborate reenactment complete with:

• an 11-hour, public, open-casket viewing in his former home at 203 North Amity Street for a $5 fee.
• an all-night vigil at Poe’s Monument, Westminster Graveyard, where literary fans  paid homage to the deceased through words, poetry or song.
• a horse-drawn hearse processional from Amity Street to Westminster Hall,  led by the Loch Raven Pipes and Drums.
• hundreds of spectators, many in appropriate period attire, lining the streets to pay tribute.
• two, 2 1/2 hour services, 12:30 and 4:30 p.m., to accommodate the vast number of mourners; 600-700.  The cost was $35 in advance and $40 at the door with no SRO or children under 10 allowed.

Best known for his role of the original Gomez Addams, John Astin, officiated at both services. An esteemed Poe researcher, Astin heads up the John Hopkins theater department.

Poe biographer and rival Rev. Rufus Griswold was forced from the podium after referring to the master of the macabre as a “carping grammarian”.

Griswold scowled and muttered through the rest of the proceedings as Poe admirers from the past and present lauded the originator of the mystery/detective novel and horror story.

Exhibiting obvious paranoia, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft read from the Necronomicon.

Other noted individuals in attendance included: Sir Alfred Hitchcock, legendary film director;  Walt Whitman, American poet; Sarah Helen Whitman, former fiancee; Nathanial Parker Willis, loyal friend; J.T.L.Preston, childhood friend; Charles Bauldelaire, French writer;  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes; Mark Redfield, actor and filmmaker.

Actual footage of the reenactment can be found at the following links:

NPR

BBC

FOXBaltimore

http://mouseski.blogspot.com/2009/10/into-region-of-shadows.html

Poe grew up, fell in love, married, penned his first poems and started his literary career in Richmond, VA.  Information regarding Poe’s life in Virginia can be found here.

Five Poe myths debunked here by Dante Club author, Matthew Pearl.

*Thanks to my niece, Amy, for her eye-witness account of the event.

” Programs, here! You can’t tell the players without a program!”

Just like the avid baseball fan, readers of Back When We Were Grown Ups would  appreciate a program or even a score card to keep track of the sheer number of characters strolling in and out of Anne Tyler’s 15th book.

First off, the jovial Joe Davitch married Tina and begat three daughters:

1. Bridget (Biddy)
2. Patricia (Patch)
3. Elinor (NoNo)

As the novel opens, we meet Rebecca (Beck) Davitch, 53, a dimpled grandmotherly type whose loose style of dress resembles that of a bag lady.

Widowed at 25, this proprietress of a 19th century Baltimore row house/party rental, inherited a ready-made family when Tina abandoned Joe and their three children for a career as a New York night club singer.

The eldest Davitch daughter, a  part-time nutritionist who dreams of being a gourmet chef, habitually refuses to taste her own concoctions for the Open Arms clientele. With her fiance’ dead of an asthma attack, the newly pregnant Biddy, 20, moved in with his gay brother.

Together, she and Troy have parented Dixon, the black-haired, brown-eyed heart throb who waits tables and aspires to attend John Hopkins.

The middle daughter, a gym teacher with a sharp freckled face and chopped black hair, looks and acts 14.  She and husband, Jeep, the big-footed runner have produced three children of their own.

1. Danny, a natural athlete
2. Emmy, the long-legged pixie
3. Meredith, an exact replica of Patch

When the youngest, tiniest and prettiest stepdaughter marries corporate lawyer, Barry Sanborn, she becomes the mother of Peter, 12, whom Tyler describes as a puny runt of a boy.

Before Joe’s untimely death at 38 in a freak car accident, he and Rebecca produced a fourth daughter, Minerva aka Min Foo.

Her children include:

1. Joey, 8, the product of her union with Drake, a 60-year-old college professor who has since moved to a Greek Island.
2. Lateesha, 4, the offspring of her African-American husband, LaVon, an aspiring musician who teaches fourth grade.
3. Baby Abdul, the son of her present husband, cardiologist Hakim Abdulazim.

Is your head spinning yet?  Then add in Poppy (Paul Davitch) Joe’s almost 100-year-old uncle of the white bushy mustache and college degree who lives with Rebecca.

Plus, there’s Zeb, Joe’s younger brother, a gangling, bespectacled pediatrician who may or may not be a love interest for Beck. After all, they call each other every night before going to bed, alone.

Feeling that life had passed her by, Beck reconnects with her college sweetheart, Will Allenby, head of the physics department of a local university.  But Rebecca’s futile attempts to rekindle their bygone romance fails and she rejects him for a second time. (How could anyone eat chili seven days a week for dinner?)

In the end, the matriarch of the Davitch family accepts her role as the go-to person, the problem solver and moves forward from that point.

Readers of Back When We Were Grownups will discover a  well-crafted character study of a large dysfunctional family.  The plot meanders along, rises to the celebration of Poppy’s 100th birthday and flat lines after that.  Nothing of great importance happens, and for that reason, some may rate Tyler’s novel as boring.

However, others describe her work as a superb chronicle of ordinary life, the tiny daily events which fill our waking hours. Beck Davitch is as familiar as our next-door neighbor or best friend.

One reviewer thought that the opening line:

“Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.”

hinted at great life-changing events that never found their way into the novel’s narrative.

A complete listing of Tyler’s novels can be found here.

Discussion Questions for Back When We Were Grownups can be found at this link.