Book Clubs

Book label created by Margaret Hutton with watercolor painting of pears on the vine.

I hope your book club is interested in reading and discussing If You Leave. Here’s a list of questions to get you started. If I can’t be with you in person, I'll mail you a package of the signature labels pictured above, with the watercolor of pears I painted.

1. The theme of forgiveness is important in the novel. Consider it from the perspective of different characters. How does each character arrive there or come close?

2. How sympathetic are you to Lucille’s and Audrey’s respective situations? Do you find one viewpoint more compelling than the other?

3. What do you think happened to Ben’s character—how does he fare relative to the women in the novel?

4. Lucille feels her actions are compulsory as she takes steps to address her situation, because “Decision involved choice, and there was none.” What do you think about this outlook? How does each character in the novel perceive his or her decisions—as compulsory or as considered choices?

5. What is significant about the period between 1944 and 1973; why do you think the writer chose to set the book during this time?

I hope your book club is interested in reading and discussing If You Leave. Here’s a list of questions to get you started. If I can’t be with you in person, I'll mail you a package of the signature labels pictured above, with the watercolor of pears I painted.