The Wednesday Sisters

1. 1. What do you think draws the women together in the opening scenes ofThe Wednesday Sisters?Is it, as Linda suggests, a shared love of books, or is it a shared fascination with Brett's white gloves, or is it both or something else? 2. Twice in the novel, Linda attempts to ask about Brett's gloves, but she is cut off by one of the other Sisters. Why are they reluctant to cross that line? What do you think the gloves symbolize? Do you think young women meeting Brett today would be as gentle about her gloves? Are there generational differences in the ways women relate? 3. Ally enters the group in part based on an unspoken assumption that Carrie is her daughter, when the child is in fact her niece. Why do you think Frankie keeps this secret rather than sharing it with the others? Do you think Ally's life would be different today, given the existence of fertility treatments and support groups? 4. Why does Kath go so far in trying to win Lee back? Did this surprise you? Do you think she would have acted differently if the success of her marriage weren't so important to her parents? If divorce had been as prevalent then as it is now? If she had been able to provide for herself financially? Would you, like Kath's friends, be reluctant to counsel her to leave her husband? Or can you imagine giving her different advice? 5. Linda's breast cancer and Ally's fertility issues cause each to doubt her own femininity, and leave their friends at a loss as to how to help them. Have you or a friend ever been through a similar crisis? What has helped you hold on to your sense of self through tough times? How have your friendships affected this experience? 6. Why do you think Frankie finds it so difficult to tell Danny she's writing a book, when she has no trouble at all confiding this fact to her husband's boss? Why are we sometimes reluctant to admit we have dreams? 7. The old abandoned mansion"a Miss Havisham house," as Frankie's husband, Danny, calls it, after the moldering mansion in Dickens'sGreat Expectationsis a haunting presence through most of the novel. What does this house seem to symbolize? Does it mean something different to each of the Sisters? What does its destruction mean? 8. Published books are mentioned throughout the novelfromThe Great GatsbytoThe Bell JartoTo Kill a Mockingbird.What role do these titles play inThe Wednesday Sisters? Why do you think each of the Sisters chooses the "model book" she does? What model book might you choose yourself? 9. The writing group the Sisters form inThe Wednesday Sisters helps its members grow in self-awareness and self-confidence. Have you been a part of a groupperhaps even a reading or writing groupthat has had a similar effect on you? What do you think of the author's message that writing doesn't have to culminate in a book deal; that it can feed the soul of anyone who works hard at it; that with hard work, it is possible to get better; and that writing can help one make sense of one's life? 10. In one memorable scene, the Wednesday Sisters gather in a funeral parlor and imagine what they can accomplish in their lives that will not perish with theClayton, Meg Waite is the author of 'The Wednesday Sisters' with ISBN 9780345502827 and ISBN 0345502825.