One of the happier developments in the world of books is the advent of the book group, a convivial gathering of like- (or, sometimes, not so like- !) minded friends, who have agreed to read a selected book and come together, perhaps over glasses of wine and desserts and more wine and several glasses of wine, to discuss it. Publishers are alive to this trend, and have served it by including, in the back of novels, a series of questions meant to provoke discussion about one aspect or another of the text. Often the questions are followed by answers, presented to stimulate further discussion.
Who writes these questions and answers? Usually an editorial assistant or an intern, fresh from university and still aglow with the enthusiasms and insights so common to classes in English literature. But not always. Sometimes the editor is given that task, and leaves distinctive evidence of his or her work.
Thank you for choosing Mother Farquhar’s Victory Lap for your book club and/or discussion group. You might find the following questions useful in aiding discussion about the novel.
The action of the novel follows a caravan of a dozen vehicles, led by Enid “Mother” Farquhar. What are they after?
Mother Farquhar’s story is that they are trying to track down her late daughter’s grandson, but is that all? Might that be called the “external” story and, if so, what might be the “internal” story?
What do we mean by “the internal story”?
I knew you would ask that. So I asked it for you. Meaning: the story of the characters’ personal, emotional development.
What, therefore, are the characters after in an emotional sense?
Did someone say “Ooh, I actually know something! They’re in pursuit of The American Dream!”? Of course they did. And they’re wrong. This is not “Easy Rider.” There’s no hippie disillusionment here, no redneck-smashed rose colored glasses: Clan Farquhar knows the rules in this dog-eat-dog world, i.e., none, and they do whatever they have to do along the way, and they do it to and with a string of colorful characters that took your breath away, didn’t they? All I can say is: You should have seen the first draft the author submitted. (I should know. I am, for my sins, the book’s editor.) But he took my notes, so fine.
In any case, there is only one goal: survival. So they do what they have to do. Just as you’re doing what you have to do, i.e., answer these questions, and I’m doing what I have to do, which is waste my formerly valuable time by asking them, rather than by actually editing manuscripts. Which is why this novel is Picaresque. But don’t take my word for it: Google it, or Snopes it, or Waze it, or Shazam or Kaboom it or do whatever it is that book club yakkers or semi-literate non-readers do these days.
Where do we “join” this motorcade? And where do we end up?
You can’t not know. We tell you four times. Jesus. That’s right, Troy, NY. And we end up in a free-for-all in — that’s right! Ithaca, NY, where for once murder and mayhem trump suicide. Ring a bell? Troy to Ithaca?
Why do you think the publisher and some perceptive reviewers call this a picaresque novel?
I’ve already told you. Op Cit. See above. And pay attention, for God’s sake. I’m not going to do it again.
Who is the protagonist of the novel?
Do you even know what “protagonist” means? Would “hero” make it easier? Are there any, even the most rudimentary, pre-requisites for joining your so-called reading group or drinking party or remedial morality class at your prison/reform school? Aside from the ability to read?
There has to be. There just has to be. Surely you have to have read the specified book.
And so you have read this one, right? You’re not just hoping you can use this Reader’s Guide as a Cliff’s Notes cheat sheet. If you are, take it from me. It won’t work. They can make me ask (and, however grudgingly, answer) these questions, but they can’t make me summarize the whole fucking book for idiots too lazy to read it.
Does Mother Farquhar remind you of anyone?
Please, leave your Freudian analysis on the toilet tank, and wash your hands before rejoining the group. Acceptable answers would include:
- Mother Courage
- Ma Barker
- Mammy Yokum
- Mama Rose
- Mommy Dearest
- Uma Thurman (Why not? I need something pleasant to think about at this point)
- The queen creature in Aliens, or Sigourney Weaver, or both
But remember: This is not a test. This is where you furrow your little brow and bravely trot out your feelings for your friends to pick at. And you’re welcome. Because if it were a test, you would probably fail. We all would. We all would fail. We’re failing at this very moment. All of us.
Do any of the characters in this book deserve your sympathies or respect?
Yes, “deserve.” But you know what? Fuck it. As they used to say on Law & Order, I’ll re-phrase: Do you, or does anyone in your discussion group, deserve my sympathies or respect?
Answer: Don’t ask. Unless it’s the ones who are trying to prove a point, just because their IQ is just a hair below normal, because their Effort grades were always the high point of their report cards and they haven’t quit trying and they never will! I give them a certain amount of “props” because—unlike you—THEY’VE READ THE BOOK. And that’s what Clan Farquhar is all about, even as Death stalks their journey from the city limits of Troy to the blood bath in Ithaca. Which some of you will consider a spoiler — but only those who haven’t read the book. And to hell with them, i.e., you.
Turn the page for a (it says here) “tension-drenched” preview of Up Against the Wall, Mother Farquhar, the riveting new novel from Richard “Squint” Peters.
