For the March book selection the Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin. 



For much of her life, Anne Morrow, the shy daughter of the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, has stood in the shadows of those around her, including her millionaire father and vibrant older sister, who often steals the spotlight.  Then Anne, a college senior with hidden literary aspirations, travels to Mexico City to spend Christmas with her family.  There she meets Colonel Charles Lindbergh, fresh off his celebrated 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic.  Enthralled by Charles's assurance and fame, Anne is certain the celebrated aviator has scarcely noticed her.  But she is wrong.  Charles sees in Anne a kindred spirit, a fellow adventurer, and her world will be changed forever.



Drawing on the rich history of the twentieth century--from the late twenties to the mid-sixties--and featuring cameos from such notable characters as Joseph Kennedy and Amelia Earhart, The Aviator's Wife is a vividly imagined novel of a complicated marriage--revealing both its dizzying highs and its devastating lows.  With stunning power and grace, Melanie Benjamin provides new insight into what made this remarkable relationship endure. 


One of the recurring themes is how Anne will choose to remember Charles.  How do you think she concludes to remember him by the end?  How does it change?


Anne's father says,  "and there's Anne.  Reliable Anne.  You never change, my daughter."  How does Anne change over the course of this novel?  Or does she?


Compare the celebrity of the Lindbergh's to the celebrity couples of today.  What current celebrities do Charles and Anne remind you of most?


Do you  think Charles and Anne were in love?  Why or why not?  Did that change over time?


Is Anne a hero?  Why or why not?


Let us know what you think of The Aviator's Wife.

The Kilbourn Public Library Book Discussion Group is reading Three Junes by Julia Glass for the February book selection.  Julia Glass's National Book Award-winning novel is fundamentally a story of family, and of the way that the bonds of love can also become barriers between individuals longing to connect.  But Three Junes also spans the final decade of the 20th century, and woven into the story of the Scots-American McLeods is a penetrating look at the circumstances of contemporary life.

Julia Glass is also a painter.  How do the style, structure, and descriptive passages of Three Junes reflect her artistic sensibility?  How do the various segments, stories and flashbacks work within the chronological text? 

Why does Paul, the steady shepherd of his family and newspaper, go to Greece first on vacation and then to live?  Do you think he really wanted to "drop (his memories) like stones, one by one, in the sea" (pg. 49)?

Part Two is titled "Upright."  Why?  Is uprightness a positive or negative characteristic?  Which characters are upright in the novel?  Who is not?

How does food--its smells, textures, and tastes--weave its way into all three parts of the novel?  Why does the author vividly spell out the menus and recipes for us at all the critical meals?  Which dishes are most memorable?

Let us know what you think of Three Junes.