Reunions

This rich and absorbing novel plumbs the friendships and secrets of four talented women during their 40-year reunion at Princeton University.

Gini, Annette, Bianca, and Apolonia come together for a joyous weekend of shared memories. Yet the reunion takes a bizarre turn when the four friends meet young Jacob, the son of their brilliant former classmate, Jake Burrage, now the reclusive CEO of Burrage Pharmaceuticals.

Jacob seems to know more about the four women than any son should or could possibly know. Such as how Gini, the first female CEO of a major publishing house, had a tempestuous romance with Jake Burrage as an undergraduate; and how Annette, married to a struggling tennis player, recruited Jake to track her husband's matches; and how Bianca, a once-celebrated concert pianist, had a brief affair with Jake in Venice; and how Apolonia, a doctor to the celebrity rich, was tutored in college by Jake, while fending off his curiosity about a scandalous affair.

When Jacob disconcertingly calls into question pivotal moments that have shaped each woman's life, they must consider the specter of a mind-boggling possibility borne on the cutting-edge of biotech's wild frontier.

These discussion questions were provided by the publisher, Greenleaf Book Group.

Book club questions for Reunions by David Adams Cleveland

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Jacob is introduced as the undergraduate staff manager of Princeton’s 40th class reunion; he is a classmate of Gini’s daughter and the son of Gini’s classmate Jake —do you find it believable that Jacob could know so much about the lives of the teammates?

Why do the Carpaccio paintings feature so prominently in the book? What part does the image of St Augustine play in the meaning of the book?

Why did Gini and Jake, who were in a long-term college romance, break up? Gini and Jack were supposed to meet in Venice; why do you think she did not show up?

Were the other 3 women ever in love with Jake and if so, how did that manifest itself? How did Jake's relationships with the other 3 teammates impact his relationship with Gini?

Did the fiercely competitive nature of the teammates' rivalry to be the number 1 player during their college years remain embedded in the four women’s characters — if so, how is that displayed in their post college lives and their relationships over the reunion weekend?

Why was Jake so focused on Apolonia’s potentially scandalous affair at the university?

How did Bianca's brief affair with Jake in Venice impact her life?

In the decades following their graduation, how did the lives of the 4 roommates and Jake unfold and intersect?

How does Jacob explain his father’s general absence from his life and his lack of engagement with his former classmates? Why is it relevant that their 40th reunion is occurring in the first quarter of the 21st c?

What best explains Gini’s romantic interlude on the Saturday night of reunions?

Reunions Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Reunions discussion questions