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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever dreamed of a “family compound”, with relatives nearby, like Hannah and Hillary? Did your dreams change over time, and why?
2. While both Hillary and Hannah love their mother, she is sometimes kept at a remove because of the sister’s closeness. Have you observed this pattern in other families? And at what cost to the others?
3. The novel contains a number of observations about parenting boys versus parenting girls. For parents – did you notice any differences in the way you or your friends approached this? Do you think Hannah’s attitudes towards Miles’s proclivities and her ex-husband’s interests were justified, or a product of her own prejudices?
4. Miles’s relationship with his cousin Morgan is one of the reasons the sisters wanted to live near each other. As readers, did you worry about the closeness between them, and what might happen as a result? Did you agree with Hannah’s decision to downplay Miles’s issues in order to keep that friendship intact?
5. If Miles was your son or grandson, what disciplinary choices or parenting decisions would you have made differently? Should they have stayed in their former school district, and toughed it out? Should Hannah have disciplined her son more harshly? Or protected him more fiercely?
6. What were your feelings about Eva’s real estate quest? Do you think it was wrong to not confront Hillary – and inform Hannah—about the illegal financial transaction? Should she have threatened her?
7. Even in the midst of an unsolved crime, the neighbors don’t even consider cancelling the Fall Festival. How did you feel about this decision?
8. The relationship between Ben and Hannah is one of the most fraught in the book. Do you think Hannah did the right thing about going to the police with her concerns? And do you think, after the final chapter, that she and Ben will be able to be close friends again?
1. In what ways do Maggie’s pursuit of her daughter and Emma’s pursuit of her story run parallel – and in what ways do they differ? Did you find their motivations and methods relatable?
2. Maggie’s parental intuition is portrayed in stark relief to the more left-brained methods of the police. Have you ever acted on a hunch or intuition? What drove you to this choice . . . and were you right?
3. Colleges are frequently under fire for their tepid responses to crimes committed on campus. What might have happened differently in the novel had different policies or attitudes in place?
4. The themes of women helping women and women hurting women are woven throughout the book. Did the betrayals surprise you? Have you ever been on the receiving end of “mean girl” behavior?
5. Emma is accused of being judgmental towards sex work. Do you believe she was, and why? In your observation, even in this enlightened era, do you think most women are?
6. How did Maggie’s experiences as a policeman’s wife and widow color her responses? Was she fair, or did she overreact?
7. The “good old boys network” among fraternity brothers and alumni form a spine of suspicion in the novel. Do you find evidence of this in your own work, life, community?
1. The anniversary of trauma is a central theme in THE FIFTH OF JULY. Have you ever experienced this kind of pain or stress as the anniversary of a death or violent event approaches?
2. The divisions between summer people and year-rounders are starkly evident in this story. Are there other places in the country or world where you have noticed these differences?
3. The metaphor of fixing people’s houses versus fixing people’s lives pervades the novel. Have you ever noticed parallels in your community — between what people do to their houses and what they do to themselves?
4. Several of the characters in the book remain fixated on, or stymied by, events and relationships from when they were teenagers. Why is it so hard to move past the memories of these tender years?
5. Though set on the relatively crime-free island of Nantucket, the novel showcases a wide variety of minor and major crimes – from vandalism to theft to rape and murder. Is this realistic? And do beautiful places do a better job of hiding ugly behavior?
6. The book highlights sharp disagreements with religious overtones – bordering on criminality — yet none of the characters seems particularly religious. What does this say about the growth and inheritance of prejudice?
7. The Warners are a family uncomfortable with talking about things – whether good or bad. What events in the book could have been aided or avoided by an open discussion?
8. The island lifestyle of unlocked doors and moonlit beach walks and talking to friendly strangers brings up different issues of trust and vulnerability for different ages. Have you ever felt threatened in an environment like this, and why?
9. Tripp Warner’s illness is perceived and handled differently by each character in the book. Whose approach did you think was correct, and why?
10. The portrayal of the detective is colored by his own history on the island. Do you believe being a native make it easier or more difficult to police a population?
1. For Carrie, one of the most frustrating recurrences in the book is the unwillingness of her family and
friends to believe that she has been visited by the dead. Have you ever had a supernatural experience? How did others react to your description of it?
2. How does Carrie’s past influence her relationship with John, and her choice of John as a husband? Do you think Ethan was a better match for her?
3. John and Carrie have very different ways of grieving their son’s kidnapping. Which do you relate to more?
4. Young women who give birth in secret, and are in denial about their pregnancies, are frequently in the news. Do you think Carrie was in denial about her pregnancy? Or about Ethan’s
intentions the night she gave birth?
5. Many people return to their hometowns after college to raise their families there. In Carrie and John’s case, do you think this was a mistake?
6. Much of the novel is told from Carrie’s point of view. To what extent, given her supernatural experiences, does this make her an unreliable narrator?
7. Does the loss of Carrie and Ethan’s child foreshadow the loss of Carrie’s and John’s, and how?
8. It could be argued that there are multiple people stalking others in the book – the killer, John, the detectives, the ghosts. Discuss the themes of obsession, control, and privacy.
9. Spiritual, emotional, and intuitive advisors are sprinkled throughout this novel – from priests to
therapists to psychics. What role did Dr. Kenney, Father Paul, Raina and Carrie’s grandmother each play to move the plot forward?
10. The metaphor of a clean vs. dirty car bookends the novel. What other metaphors or symbols did you find throughout the book?
11. As more and more dead people seem to appear in the novel, Carrie struggles to determine who may or may not be alive. Did you find yourself doing the same thing? What clues did you use to help decide who was alive and who was dead?
1. Ann reveals within the first chapter that her memory is failing. How did this confession affect your reading? Was Ann an unreliable narrator?
2. Bird houses are a reoccurring theme throughout the novel—besides the title itself, Ellie chooses bird houses for her “Aspect” school project. Do you think the bird houses hold some sort of symbolism? Why or why not?
3. Throughout the novel, we get bits and pieces of what Ann’s husband, Theo, was like. Do you think Ann is fair with his depiction? If the novel had been narrated by Theo, how do you think he would have described himself? How would his perspective differ from Ann’s?
4. In the beginning, Ann describes her daughter-in-law, Tinsley, as almost perfect. She even attributes her granddaughter’s wonderful demeanor to Tinsley.When do you see Ann’s opinion begin to change? Why do you think it changes so drastically? Do you think they will ever completely resolve their differences?
5. Adultery reoccurs throughout the novel and is also a shared commonality between Ann, her mother, and Tinsley. How do you think this bonds the women together? Does this shared connection help them relate to one another? Or could it also have an opposite effect on their relationships?
6. Ann, her mother, and Tinsley all have completely different personalities and lead completely different lives. What do you think lead each women to cheat on her partner?
7. When Ann confronts Tinsley about her affair, she claims to have the best intentions. Do you agree with how Ann handled this discussion? If you were in Ann’s position, what would you have done?
8. Ann never gave her father the chance to give his side of the story and after his death she discovers he was not her biological father. Do you think she should have given him the chance to explain himself? And do you think this was what he was trying to tell her?
9. On page 280, Ann says to Ellie: “‘If you ever have to choose between a man who’s serious and a man who’s fun, choose the fun one. Promise me.’” Do you agree with Ann?
1. “In all things, I blame the husband.” How does Claire’s sentiment relate specifically to her relationship with her husband, Sam? How does the nature of their relationship complicate Sam’s negotiations for Claire’s release?
2. How does Claire’s acute panic disorder govern the decisions she makes in her life? To what extent do her fear and anxiety seem grounded in the normal stress and strain of raising small children in today’s dangerous world? How do her feelings about her father’s death seem connected to this anxiety?
3. “I list what I know: A Cutlass, velour interior, at least fifteen years old….He looks Latin, yet is over six feet tall.” How does Claire’s training as a journalist color her own account of her own abduction?
4. How does the organization of Standing Still into chapters representing each day of the abduction impact your sense of the looming deadline for Claire’s ransom? To what extent do you think the effect of the flashbacks is like Claire’s life “passing before her eyes,” as she contemplates her possible death at the hands of her abductor?
5. How does Sam’s work in the pharmaceutical industry come to play a role in Claire’s conversations with her abductor? To what extent do you believe that Sam is complicit in the deaths of Mexican workers? Why might Claire be unwilling to ask her husband the hard questions that she asks in her everyday work as a journalist?
6. “It takes all the strength I have not to call out to Him, to say what I think: Don’t leave me.” How does Claire’s relationship with her abductor evolve over the course of the novel? To what extent does Claire fear her abductor by the end of her confinement? How does her relationship with her abductor compare to her relationship with her husband, Sam?
7. After she is found by the police, why does Claire drive back to Room 7 of the Mid-County Motor Inn? How does her gesture betray her training as an investigative journalist, and what does it suggest about her medical condition, post-abduction?
8. What role do secrets play in Standing Still? How does the secret of Claire’s past life with David and Jesse haunt this novel? How do the secrets behind Sam’s job affect his family? To what extent did these additional levels of secrecy add to your interest in the mystery behind Claire’s experience?