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Absolution
A riveting account of women's lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the National Book Award.
You have no idea what it was like. For us. The women, I mean. The wives.
American women--American wives--have been mostly minor characters in the literature of the Vietnam War, but in Absolution they take center stage. Tricia is a shy newlywed, married to a rising attorney on loan to navy intelligence. Charlene is a practiced corporate spouse and mother of three, a beauty and a bully. In Saigon in 1963, the two women form a wary alliance as they balance the era's mandate to be "helpmeets" to their ambitious husbands with their own, inchoate impulse to "do good" for the people of Vietnam.
Sixty years later, Charlene's daughter, spurred by an encounter with an aging Vietnam vet, reaches out to Tricia. Together, they look back at their time in Saigon, taking wry account of that pivotal year and of Charlene's altruistic machinations, and discovering as they do how their own lives as women on the periphery--of politics, of history, of war, of their husbands' convictions--have been shaped and burdened by the same sort of unintended consequences that followed America's tragic interference in Southeast Asia.
A virtuosic new novel from Alice McDermott, one of our most observant, most affecting writers--about folly and grace, obligation, sacrifice, and, finally, the quest for absolution in a broken world.
These book club questions were prepared by Bookclubs staff.
Book club questions for Absolution by Alice McDermott
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
The title "Absolution" implies forgiveness, absolution of sins, or release from consequences. Which characters seem to be seeking absolution, whether consciously or subconsciously? For what reasons?
The novel explores the theme of female friendship through Patricia and Charlene's complex relationship. How would you characterize their dynamic? What drew Patricia to Charlene despite their differences?
Discuss the roles and expectations placed on American military wives in 1960s Vietnam. In what ways were their lives very sheltered and limited? In what ways did some of them push against restrictions?
Patricia miscarries several times throughout her marriage. How do you think her unfulfilled desire for motherhood shapes her as a character? How does it affect her relationship with Charlene and Rainey?
Charlene and some other wives engage in humanitarian efforts. What motivations, both spoken and unspoken, might be behind these efforts? Discuss whether true altruism exists. Did you view certain characters' efforts as self-serving or with mixed motives rather than purely selfless?
Over the years, Rainey's perspective on her mother shifts. What complex or contradictory feelings does Rainey harbor toward Charlene? When does she feel closest to truly understanding her? Can you relate to her evolving emotions regarding her mother?
Explore how the lens of time, memory, and hindsight shapes Patricia's narrative perspective. How might her views have differed if she told the story in 1963 rather than reflecting back decades later?
In what ways were characters like Patricia and the American wives complicit in or willfully blind to the violence and injustice happening in Vietnam? How do they come to terms with their complicity and does the novel suggest redemption is possible?
Several characters grapple with gray areas of morality amid the Vietnam War's chaos. Were there certain choices or compromises you sympathized with or were troubled by? Which characters do you think acted most ethically?
The trips to the leprosarium force characters to confront human suffering head-on. What "impulse to turn away" did you notice in various characters? What enables one to truly bear witness?
The structure moves between Patricia narrating her past experience and corresponding with Rainey in the present day. What does the epistolary format add? What effect does ending with Patricia's perspective have?
Absolution Book Club Questions PDF
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