The Law of Bound Hearts (30 page)
MK:
When Libby learns that she's dying, when she becomes stripped down in herself, what she finds is the poetry.
AL:
But what covers over the essence? What armor do we put on over creativity? Is it a cloak we are told to wear, the burden of adult or domestic responsibility? I love it when we can reawaken that original, creative self. I was deeply glad when Libby returned to poetry. How interesting that Libby's poetry had been kept hidden in a drawer! Why out of sight? Some part of her went to that particular drawer to put away her dialysis material. Nothing happens by accident, in life or in fiction.
MK:
She found her soul-speech when she needed it. The spirit under pressure makes poetry.
AL:
I like that!
MK:
Thank you!
READING GROUP QUESTIONS AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION
Early in the book we learn of the sisters' estrangement, a separation we later discover is caused by Libby's betrayal of Sam. Lee encourages Sam to forgive her sister, as he has forgiven his own father. What do you think? Is there any betrayal that can't be forgiven?
The author asks: Must forgiveness be earned, or can it simply be granted. What do you think? And do you believe that even if people forgive each other they can ever really let go of the hurt as Libby and Sam seem to do?
Six years pass before Sam reconnects with Libby. Do you think it is necessary for time to elapse before healing can take place?
Several times throughout the book, Libby is drawn to the prairie, though she says it had always been more Richard's place. Why do you think she is drawn there, and how do the prairie scenes amplify or serve as metaphors for the book's major themes?
Sam lives by the sea, which like the tall grass prairie is a place of great beauty. By choosing these settings and underscoring their draw for the characters, do you think the author is saying that we can find healing in the natural world? Has there been a time in your life when a connection to nature helped you heal?
All of the main characters are in some way engaged in creative activity. Libby remembers her college poetry professor saying that what we create can save us. Do you agree?
By making creativity such an intrinsic part of her characters' lives, is the author saying that the desire to create is an inherent part of human nature? Do you think it is possible to find fulfillment in life without being creative?
Sam can't understand Josh's refusal to be tested to see if he is a match for Libby. Why do the two siblings have such different perspectives? What, if any, obligations do family members have to one another?
Which character did you most identify with, and why?
Lee sees strengths in Sam that she doesn't see in herself. Do you think others often have a clearer view of our qualities?
When Libby is trying to cope with the fact that she might die, she makes a list of the things she wants to do if she lives. Why does it so often take a crisis to make us alert to how we spent our lives? What would be on your list, and what stops you from doing those things now?
In the scene at the restaurant, Libby talks about the things she has denied herself in life, particularly in terms of food, and how she regrets that now. Do you feel this pressure in your life to abstain from things that you like? What are they, and how would you feel if the option of having those things taken away from you was through something like Libby's kidney disease?
As a child and teenager, Libby is feisty and free-spirited with grand dreams. What do you think happened to transform her into the careful and conservative woman she has become? How could she have retained her individuality in her marriage and as a mother? To what extent does one need to compromise in life, and how can that happen without losing part of who one is?
If you could ask the author one question about this book, what would it be?
About the Author
ANNE LECLAIRE is the author of the critically acclaimed novels
Leaving Eden
and
Entering Normal.
Her work has appeared in
The New
York Times, Redbook,
and
Yankee
magazine, among other publications. Her novels have been published in twenty countries and translated into eighteen languages. She lives on Cape Cod with her husband, a black cat, and fifteen chickens. Visit the author's website at
www.anneleclaire.com
.
ALSO BY ANNE LECLAIRE
Leaving Eden
Entering Normal
Sideshow
Grace Point
Every Mother's Son
Land's End
The Law of Bound Hearts
is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents are the products of
the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
2005 Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Edition
Copyright © 2004 by Anne D. LeClaire
Reading group guide copyright © 2005 by
Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books,
an imprint of The Random House Publishing
Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks
of Random House, Inc.
Ballantine Reader's Circle and colophon are
trademarks of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-307-41719-0
v3.0
