<ol>
<li><p>Who was your favorite character and why? Did your opinion of any of the characters change as the novel progressed?</p></li>
<li><p>A.J.’s character undergoes dramatic changes in the course of the novel. Two incidents in particular highlight this – his decision to expand the store’s children section and his use of the e-reader in the hospital. What do these episodes tell us about A.J.?</p></li>
<li><p>Discuss the connection between love and loss in the novel. How did you feel about A.J. and Amelia’s story mirroring events in The Late Bloomer?</p></li>
<li><p>Did you have sympathy for the character of Marian, or did you find her decision to leave her child and end her own life unforgivable?</p></li>
<li><p>What do you think of Ismay’s decision to keep the circumstances surrounding Marian Wallace’s death a secret? Would Maya benefit from knowing the identity of her biological father?</p></li>
<li><p>Why does A.J. give Maya the middle name “Tamerlane”? What does this say about his altered values?</p></li>
<li><p>The Late Bloomer celebrates finding love late in life. Both A.J. and Ismay find love again after the death of their first spouses. What are the advantages of a more “mature” love?</p></li>
<li><p>Discuss the scene where Daniel Parish is killed in a car crash and Ismay’s thought processes leading up to this moment. Do you think Ismay deliberately parks recklessly, knowing what may happen?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you think that Maya’s life would have been very different if she had not been left in a bookstore? Does A.J.’s literary influence shape her or is she destined to become a writer?</p></li>
<li><p>In his review of “The Luck of Roaring Camp,” A.J. points out that we can respond very differently to books depending on the life stage we are at when reading them. Do you think this is true? Have you ever re-read a story or novel and responded very differently to it the second time around? If so, why?</p></li>
<li><p>A.J. believes that you can glean everything you need to know about a person by finding out their favorite book. Is it true that our choice of reading matter expresses our personalities? What is your favorite book and what do you think it says about you?</p></li>
<li><p>Lambiase is turned off reading when he is a child through negative experiences at school. How important do you think school literature classes are in shaping our attitudes to reading? At what stage in life did you learn to love books?</p></li>
<li><p>Leonora Ferris, the real author of The Late Bloomer, claims that it doesn’t matter whether her story is true or not as long as it touches people. Do you agree? Would you feel defrauded to discover a memoir you had read was actually fiction? What does this episode say about the emotional truth of fiction?</p></li>
<li><p>The novel celebrates the role of the independent bookshop within the literary world. Do such stores stand a chance in today’s cutthroat financial climate? Is A.J. right to fear the introduction of the e-reader or is there a place for both?</p></li>
<li><p>Did you anticipate the ending of the novel? How do you foresee the futures of Amelia, Maya and Island Books? Did you find the conclusion bleak or uplifting?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for getting us started, Mary! I also liked this book and agree with the onion analogy. The more you think about the book, the more you realize the depth of the book.</p>
<p>So many questions! How about this one first -
It is difficult to pick one. I like the characters in this book. Lambiase may be the one I like the most. He is not what is expected and he is wonderful. Lambiase’s character has many layers (like the onion Mary mentions above). Lambiase is a good a person and is good to, and for, the people he loves.</p>
<p>I really loved reading this book. It flew by. I enjoyed spending time with this group of characters and while I was shocked by the death of A.J. I really liked how the book kept going. I liked that everyone was able to move on from their grief and loved that Lambiase, not Amelia ended up running the bookstore. He belonged on that island, while Amelia was always a visitor - there because she loved A.J. not because it was such a good fit for her life and ambitions. The only character I felt was too cartoonlike was David Parish. I never believed for an instant he had the capacity to change and it was good riddance when he was offed.</p>
<p>Shortly after I finished the book I read various online reviews and came across one that just hated it. Felt it was manipulative and designed to be a book club favorite - and I thought yes, this is true too, but it hasn’t stopped me from loving the book. In that sense I think it reminded me of Possession - think the author is actually pretty aware of what she’s doing, but this book was a much easier read!</p>
<p>Did anyone notice how many of the short stories involved a death - often horrible gruesome ones? I think if I’d been more aware of the content of all those stories I’d have been much more prepared for what was coming!</p>
<p>When I first started the book, I wasn’t sure I liked it too much. It struck me as cutesy and sentimental. And the notion of caring for a toddler in a bookstore was extremely unrealistic.</p>
<p>Then I was drawn into the story, and I ended up enjoying the book. That fake author at the reading was pretty interesting!</p>
<p>I too like the book. I started and finished it within two days. I am still working my way through the short stories but do plan to read all of them. (I just finished “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and HATED it.)</p>
<p>I like the characters that people the book and have a particular fondness for Lambaise. The author draws attention to Lambaise from the first chapter - actually from the inclusion of the first short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” and he gradually becomes more and more an integral part of the story.</p>
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<p>I agree and I also agree with mathmom’s impression that the author knows exactly what she’s doing. As A.J. reflects on the type of book to stock for book club, he thinks
It makes me laugh, considering how Zevin works those elements right into her story.</p>
<p>I liked Lambiase too (I think it’s an Italian name, because of the “ia” in the second syllable ). However, Lambiase’s going from someone who didn’t read much – or only books in a narrow genre – to a guy who regularly read every single book that A.J. Fikry read was too much of a change. “Heartwarming,” certainly, but highly improbable.</p>
<p>What I thought was brilliant about “Bananafish” was that Salinger set you up to fear that Seymour would harm the little girl…and then he didn’t. </p>
<p>^^^ Thanks for the spelling correction: Lambiase.</p>
<p>It also brought to mind that the short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” introducing Lambiase might also be a subtle play on the police chief’s name.</p>
<p>I don’t get the impression (but could easily be wrong) that Lambiase reads every book that A.J. reads. Rather I think that A.J. expands Lambiase’s reading from the bedrock of his favorite pulp fiction and authors into a wider range of offerings in the same genre. I think a good bookseller could easily do that. You know, “If you like so-and-so, then you should give an alternate so-and-so a try.” I also think my reading has expanded greatly over the last few years because of this book club. So maybe I have that personal reason to believe in the change of Lambiase’s reading habits. (And am taking this opportunity to say thank you to many of you who have expanded my own reading repertoire.)</p>
<p>Yes and yes. Literary snob that I am (I confess), I objected at first to certain things that I viewed as inferior writing or cheap devices…only to realize afterward that the joke was on me.</p>
<p>For example, I sighed when I started the book and saw that it was written in the present tense. ‘I don’t really like that–too YA or something’ (said my inner snob). Then later, when Maya’s short story is subject to peer review, the criticism from a classmate is, “And why third person? Why present tense? It makes the writing seem childish to me” (p. 180). Ha ha…Zevin anticipated my critique and slyly commented on it.</p>
<p>Second example: Late in the book, when Ismay spills all to Lambiase about the backpack, she reveals motive and crime to him in a wordy confession. ‘Please, said I, is that realistic? It’s a bit like the finale of a dime store crime novel.’ But then…<em>Slaps self in forehead</em> …Of course, that is exactly what it is supposed to be like: It’s Lambiase’s favorite genre.</p>
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<p>Whatever the the origin, I got a kick out of Lambiase’s name, because to me, it sounds like some sort of marinade for lamb, which is precisely what he thought was missing in “Lamb to the Slaughter.” </p>
<p>I can’t find it now (drat!) but I know there is a statement to the effect that Lambiase gets to the point where he reads just about everything that Fikry does. I may be cynical, but I thought, “Yeah, right!” It’s one thing to have your interests and tastes broadened, and another to make that kind of transformation. Maybe if Lambiase had taken classes, like the woman in “Educating Rita”…</p>
<p>I definitely liked Lambiase, but my favorite character was Ismay. She had some really hard times in her life and struggled with knowing what she should do. She made some decisions I might not have made (like staying with her husband way too long and not telling anyone about Maya’s background) but, in the end, all turned out well. Ismay was a more complex character than Lambiase. </p>
<p>Personally, I think Maya was better off with AJ. I also think David was incapable of change. I wasn’t sorry that he died.</p>
<p>I am just now starting to read the stories. </p>
<p>I came to “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” already ‘knowing’ Seymour Glass from J.D. Salinger’s other stories about the Glass family and I have always found him appealing, albeit flawed (to put it mildly). A little backstory on the character:</p>
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<p>Seymour Glass had a lot in common with Salinger himself, who was also scarred by the war, and who found comfort in both platonic friendships and romances with girls and young women many years his junior.</p>
<p>(^ I know this info is slightly off-topic from A.J. Fikry, but I think that such digressions are part of Zevin’s goal in including all those stories in the novel.)</p>
<p>I really enjoyed reading this book and the short stories. I still have a few to go, including “Ironhead”, but the whole experience has been a breath of fresh air. Thanks for the suggestion of this title!</p>
<p>I finished the book a few weeks ago, so the details have started to “blend”. However, I think my favorite character is A.J. Fikry. He was such an anti-social snob (still wondering how best to characterize him!) in the beginning of the book, but finding Maya softened him in sometimes predictable yet endearing ways. What a transformation. I love his response to Amelia about what books he likes on pg. 13,
. Picky, picky! (Yet I found myself in sympathy to these points of view.) </p>
<p>I was amused and touched by the many transformations after A.J. became a father. Years ago I read Flannery O’Connors book of short stories, A Good Man is Hard to Find with a book group here. A friend, and the leader of our group, told us in the discussion that Flannery O’Connor is known for the “odd” twists in her stories, which often represent a moment in which we make important decisions, and more specifically, when we accept or decline certain “graces” offered to us often in lightning-bolt-quick moments of life. A.J. Fikry certainly seemed to accept a huge blessing in his life when said yes to keeping and raising Maya! </p>
<p>I felt conflicted about Ismay—I couldn’t quite warm to her. In the long run, keeping two big secrets (Maya’s paternity and the whereabouts of Tamberlane) turned out to be beneficial for the parties involved, but I thought Ismay kept those secrets for selfish reasons, not altruistic ones. And she was so harsh to Marian, even though she knew Marian was telling the truth.</p>
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<p>I suppose it’s a legitimate question because of this passage: </p>
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<p>But no, I don’t think she endangered their lives deliberately. Maybe subconsciously, in that she was behaving stupidly, as angry and unhappy people sometimes do. However, considering the thought that Ismay had immediately before Daniel’s death, I would have expected her to be forever riddled with guilt, but she appears to rebound without much difficulty.</p>
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<p>I like that description, and I’m thinking of it now in terms of Ismay. Was the visit from Marian and Maya a certain “grace” that Ismay declined? How would the characters’ lives have turned out if Ismay had done the right thing by Marian and made Daniel step up and take responsibility?</p>
I loved this quote too, it made me sure I was going to enjoy this book. I agree with him about 99% - but I hate his taste in short stories! Though when it comes right down to, I really just don’t like short stories much in general. I like character development. </p>
<p>One thing I’ve always found rather odd in myself is while I have very little patience for postmodernism or gimmicks in literature - I rather like them in films. Oddly I did not notice that the book was written in the first tense - in theory that’s something I hate along with authors who don’t believe in quotation marks. (I’m talking to you Doctorow (Ragtime) and Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall). </p>
<p>I don’t know about poor Ismay. This would have been a different book had she done something for Marian and Maya! I too found difficulty initially warming to Ismay’s character, but learning the whole story changed that. I just went back to the crash scene and I do not think she parked the car, intentionally setting them up for the crash. She said to Daniel, before they were hit
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<p>Ismay was grieving for her own lost child, feeling guilty and confused about her own actions and their implications in Marian’s death–wishing she had a child, even if it was Maya, and furious with her insensitive, lying, and unfaithful husband. Daniel had just told her to accept him because he wasn’t the “worst” and described their marriage as “perfectly average”. Clearly she was still fighting feelings of guilt over her decision to turn Marian and Maya away, and confused about how to deal with her marriage. Poor Ismay! </p>
<p>Later in the book and much later in her life, when confessing the details of the theft of *Tamerlane * to Lambiase (and perhaps, their relationship is truly Ismay’s saving “grace”), Ismay acknowledges her part in Marian’s suicide. She remembers she “screamed” at Marian, a “kid” calling her one of Daniel’s “sluts”. Ismay was hoping to reunite with her husband when she was pregnant, when Marian came to her with Maya. She realizes and subsequently lived with her guilt over the attempt to use Tamerlane as a payoff–and even this payoff was tainted by Maya (and her crayoned scribblings). </p>
<p>Ismay’s story before Lambiase came into her life becomes sadder and sadder, now that I’m reading back. How amazing that Lambiase saw her for the person she could be. Now, I must look back to see why he asked her out…</p>
<p>I like that Lambiase stops Ismay from committing suicide - as she walks into the water the day of A.J.'s wedding. The car accident happens the same day. I don’t think Ismay aims to kill Daniel. She stops the car because she just can’t go on - figuratively turns into literally.</p>
<p>I’m not a fan of Ismay. I understand that her life was miserable and that her reactions to situations were always through that misery and sadness. Still, I thought she was selfish. I don’t think she intentionally parked the car to hurt Daniel. She had just come to the decision that she did not want to die. She could have easily died in the accident, so I believe it was an accident. I also find it unsettling that she didn’t seem to have guilt or sadness over Daniel’s death…a selfish reaction.</p>
<p>I don’t think her character was developed enough later in the book. It’s not clear to me how she became a good person instead of a selfish one. I guess we are just expected to believe that without Daniel in her life, she is a better person. Lambiase loves her, so she must be okay. :)</p>
<p>NJTM, here is the passage you were looking for, when Lambiase answers Ismay’s question about what he likes to read:</p>
<p>“Little bit of everything. I started with crime novels. Pretty predictable that, I guess. But then A.J. got me into other kinds of books, too. Literary fiction, I think you’d call it. Some of it doesn’t have enough action for my taste. Kind of embarrassing, but I like young adult. Plenty of action there and feelings, too. I also read whatever A.J.’s reading. He’s partial to short stories—“ (p. 205).</p>
<p>I didn’t take Lambiase literally. I mean, I don’t think A.J. was passing along Infinite Jest to him. But A.J. does instruct Lambiase after a fashion, carefully selecting one title after another. I can imagine him doing so with a comment along the lines of, “I’m reading this and thought you might like it…” A.J. “graduates him to trade paperbacks by Jo Nesbø and Elmore Leonard. Both authors are hits with Lambiase, so A. J. promotes him again to Walter Mosley and then Cormac McCarthy. A.J.’s most recent recommendation is Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories" (p. 72). So in a way, maybe Lambiase is Julie Walters and A.J. is Michael Caine…:)</p>
<p>Unless I missed it, Lambiase has no first name. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were another quiet literary joke by Zevin. Think Spenser from the Robert B. Parker detective novels, a series that Lambiase would probably love.</p>
<p>As I progressed through the book, I started regarding it as a pleasant fairy story. A single man cares for a toddler in a book store, a publisher’s rep manages to do her job in spite of living on an island, a cop with narrow tastes in reading starts appreciating literary fiction, Fikry dies before incurring such huge medical bills that the store would have to have been sold to relieve the debt, etc, etc.</p>
). However, Lambiase’s going from someone who didn’t read much – or only books in a narrow genre – to a guy who regularly read every single book that A.J. Fikry read was too much of a change. “Heartwarming,” certainly, but highly improbable.</p>
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