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This reading group guide for The Bird House includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Kelly Simmons. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.INTRODUCTION
Every family has its secrets. But when you are the last survivor tending to the dark fires of memory, and your own mind is fading, who do you share them with? Your diary or your eight-year-old granddaughter? Or do you simply let them fade away, along with your memory?
The Bird House is a moving story of secrets, lies, and relationships. It is a close look at the hardship and heartbreak that one woman can withstand during a lifetime. As an elderly woman, Ann Biddle is struggling to both remember and come to terms with the life she has led. It is through her young, but wise granddaughter, Ellie, that Ann finds a way to deal with her past and finally reveal the secrets that have come to taint the present.
TOPICS AND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Ann reveals within the first chapter that her memory is failing. How did this confession affect your reading? Was Ann an unreliable narrator? Explain your answer.
2. Bird houses are a recurring theme throughout the novel—besides the title itself, Ellie chooses bird houses for her “Aspect” school project. Do you think the bird houses hold some sort of symbolism? Why or why not?
3. Throughout the novel, we get bits and pieces of what Ann’s husband, Theo, was like. Do you think Ann is fair with his depiction? If the novel had been narrated by Theo, how do you think he would have described himself? How would his perspective differ from Ann’s?
4. In the beginning, Ann describes her daughter-in-law, Tinsley, as almost perfect. She even attributes her granddaughter’s wonderful demeanor to Tinsley. When do you see Ann’s opinion begin to change? Why do you think it changes so drastically? Do you think they will ever completely resolve their differences?
5. Ann thinks the world of Tom and Ellie. In her mind, they can do no wrong. Do you feel the same? Or do you think she is fiercely loyal to them because they are her flesh and blood?
6. Adultery recurs throughout the novel and is also a shared commonality between Ann, her mother, and Tinsley. How do you think this bonds the women together? Does this shared connection help them relate to one another? Or could it also have an opposite effect on their relationships?
7. Ann, her mother, and Tinsley all have completely different personalities and lead completely different lives. What do you think lead each woman to cheat on her partner?
8. There were multiple instances throughout the novel where Ann’s daughter, Emma, acts in an odd, and even malicious, manner. Do you think this is a result or an effect of the anger and resentment she feels for losing her daughter at such a young age?
9. Do you blame Ann for her daughter’s death? Do you think Ann blames herself? Why do you think she kept this a secret for such a long time?
10. When Ann confronts Tinsley about her affair, she claims to have the best intentions. Do you agree with how Ann handled this discussion? If you were in Ann’s position, what would you have done?
11. Ann never gave her father the chance to give his side of the story, and after his death she discovers he was not her biological father. Do you think she should have given him the chance to explain himself? And do you think this was what he was trying to tell her?
12. Ann reveals a great deal about her past, and even present, to Ellie. Do you think this relationship was inappropriate? Why or why not?
13. On page 272, Ann says to Ellie: “‘If you ever have to choose between a man who’s serious and a man who’s fun, choose the fun one. Promise me.’” Do you agree with Ann? Who do you think was the “fun one” and who was the serious one? Theo or Peter?
14. Did you like that the novel was told from only Ann’s perspective? Or would you have a more objective, third person narrator?’
ENHANCE YOUR BOOK CLUB 1. Ellie decides to do her school project with the “Aspect” of bird houses. Make your own bird house and share it with the group.
2. Ann and Ellie work very hard to create their family tree for Ellie’s school project. Visit www.ancestry.com or pick up a copy of
Shaking the Family Tree: Blue Bloods, Black Sheep, and Other Obsessions of an Accidental Genealogist by Buzzy Jackson, to learn more about how to make a family tree of your own.
3. Not all elderly people have the family and friends that Ann has. Volunteer at a nursing or retirement home with members from your book club. Sit down with someone and ask her to tell you stories of her past.
4. Learn more about Kelly Simmons on her website at www.ByKellySimmons.com and her blog at www.kellyasimmons.blogspot.com.
A CONVERSATION WITH KELLY SIMMONS What was your inspiration for The Bird House?My daughter brought home an assignment from school that asked her to do a series of projects based on the family history that required interviewing a grandparent. I thought to myself, hmmmm, this assignment could really backfire, couldn’t it? With a troubled grandparent, an innocent little girl, and a few family secrets, all hell could break loose! The idea rattled around in the back of my mind for a year or so while I started two other novels. Then I decided it was too powerful a story to ignore and focused my attention on it.
As your second novel, was the writing process easier or more difficult? What were the differences and similarities in writing The Bird House compared to Standing Still?It was a bit easier in the editorial stages because I’d been through the process already. And as with
Standing Still, I found the voice of the main character quickly. However, the actual writing was more difficult. The structure of
The Bird House, with its twin diaries forty years apart, entwining and untangling, proved challenging. That being said, the most difficult part for me is always choosing material. I guess because of my advertising background, I’m a brainstormer—I generate lots of ideas for novels.
The main character, Ann, is suffering from early onset of Alzheimer’s. Do you personally know anyone suffering from the disease?Yes, our family has struggled with having a loved one diagnosed, as have several of my friends’ families. It’s a reality for many people, and in the beginning stages, it’s so hard to pinpoint and accept.
How did you research Alzheimer’s to make sure Ann’s symptoms were realistic?I interviewed siblings, spouses, and children of Alzheimer’s patients, rather than doctors, to hear their stories and to try to get the details right. I wanted the family’s perceptions of the symptoms, not the textbook symptoms, if that makes sense.
Why did you decide to write the novel in the first person? Why did you want readers to get only Ann’s perspective?Ann’s perspective works best because her faulty memory makes her an unreliable narrator. I wanted readers to feel the tension and the worry of not knowing what she was going to do or say, or if they could trust her version of events. I love ambiguity and subtlety in a story, and so many novels with multiple narrators or an omniscient narrator go overboard and reveal more than is necessary. It’s kind of a TMI situation for me. And I guess I am somewhat obsessed with first-person unreliable narrators, as
Standing Still had one too!
You are a former creative director with a specialization in marketing to women. The Bird House is primarily about women, told from a woman’s perspective. Do you think you will ever write a novel from a man’s perspective? Or would you rather stick to what you know best?Well, I admit I have a righteous feminist streak, almost as if I was born in another era. I just really feel the indignation and the struggle deeply. Writing male characters can be a joy, but overall, there are so many more women’s stories I want to explore.
Your first novel, Standing Still, deals with anxiety disorders and abduction, while characters in The Bird House cope with Alzheimer’s and the death of a child. Why did you choose to pair these dark subject matters in both your novels?My agent once told me that I was “obsessed with what’s hidden.” I’m also obsessed with the things I’m afraid of—which are fairly numerous! If you combed through the magazine articles and newspapers I read, the movies I see, the TV I watch—you’d see immediately I have a fascination with gritty stuff—crime and police, mysteries. By melding them into my work, I’m shedding some feminine, suburban, maternal light on them.
Ann and Ellie are very close throughout the novel. Were you close to either of your grandmothers?I was close to both of them—the book is dedicated to them—and have amazing, warm, hilarious memories of them both. Because my mother was ill when I was young, these relationships were especially important to me.
What are you currently reading? Who are your favorite authors?I just finished
Little Bee, which was my choice for my mother-and-daughter book group. A few of my favorite authors are Ann Beattie, John Irving, and Lionel Shriver. But I love so many!
Are you working on a third novel? What is next for Kelly Simmons?Yes, I’m polishing up a new novel called
The Book Addict. Words to live by!