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Amy and Isabelle
Elizabeth Strout. Vintage Books: 2000. ISBN: 0375705198. 304 pages.
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About the Author
A page of detailed biographical information on Amy and Isabelle including excerpts from interviews in which Strout interprets her own work.
You’ll find out why Strout took a stand-up comedy course before writing her first novel, and why she thinks “writing is like having a dinner party.”
All in the Family
A synopsis of the literary traditions and genres with which Amy and Isabelle is affiliated and a brief explanation of these connections, giving your book group the opportunity to understand Strout’s novel in a larger literary perspective.
Strout plays with point of view and uses flashback in truly original ways to make this more than just another novel about Small Town USA.
Talk Back to the Critics
Excerpts of some major critical reviews of Amy and Isabelle from authoritative journals, newspapers, and magazines. We encourage your book group to enjoy the opportunity to argue with expert opinion.
One critic is driven to fantasies of aggression by the realistic force of Strout’s characters: “One can’t help but want to shake Amy and Isabelle and shout that one or both of them must get a life.”
Character Tree
A list of major characters and their dominant characteristics and values, showing characters’ relationships to each other.
You’ll read about girls in trouble, lovers and wives in trouble, workers in trouble at the mill office, and students and their teachers in trouble at school.
Streams of Themes
A breakdown of potential major discussion themes in Amy and Isabelle including ways these themes are interconnected.
Many of the themes in Strout’s novel work as opposites: loneliness and community, the ordinary and the extraordinary, and shame and blame are just a few. But the most intriguing image has got to be the “black line of connection” that binds together Amy and Isabelle as mother and daughter.
Doorways to Discussion
A chronologically and thematically organized list of discussion questions, which function to explore, in a logical and thoughtful manner, the questions and possibilities that Amy and Isabelle evokes.
Here’s a nice juicy example of the 28 questions featured in this section: “Why does Isabelle cut Amy’s hair when she gets home? What most enrages her about Amy’s sexuality?”
Taste Test
A selection of other books on subjects similar to those in Amy and Isabelle to consider for future book group meetings or for private reading.
If you like reading about the complexities of family, small-town life, or strong, complex female characters, we’ve included lots of books we think you’ll enjoy!
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