We Love You, Charlie Freeman

The Freeman family--Charles, Laurel, and their daughters, teenage Charlotte and nine-year-old Callie--have been invited to the Toneybee Institute to participate in a research experiment. They will live in an apartment on campus with Charlie, a young chimp abandoned by his mother. The Freemans were selected because they know sign language; they are supposed to teach it to Charlie and welcome him as a member of their family. But when Charlotte discovers the truth about the institute’s history of questionable studies, the secrets of the past invade the present in devious ways.
The power of this shattering novel resides in Greenidge’s undeniable storytelling talents. What appears to be a story of mothers and daughters, of sisterhood put to the test, of adolescent love and grown-up misconduct, and of history’s long reach, becomes a provocative and compelling exploration of America’s failure to find a language to talk about race.

Book club questions for We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge

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

We Love You, Charlie Freeman is comprised of several storylines and plots. We move from the 1990s to the 1920s, from the Freemans to Nymphadora. Why do you think Greenidge chose to alternate between these varying points of view? How does it affect your reaction to Nymphadora? How does it affect your feelings about the Freemans?

Language, both how we use it and how it fails us, is an important theme in this book. Laurel learns to sign largely because of how she’s treated when she speaks. Can you think of a moment in your life when you felt hindered by language? How did you overcome this?

Laurel does things that many consider shocking, from moving the family to the Toneybee Institute to allowing Charlie to attempt to breastfeed. What did you think of Laurel’s actions? What insights into her character did they provide?

What did you think of Julia Toneybee-Leroy’s letter? Were you surprised by it? How did you feel about its placement in the book?

This book is in many ways the story of Callie and Charlotte’s relationship. Did you find yourself drawn to one over the other? If you have a sister, how does their relationship compare to yours?

Some have commented on the “big brother” feeling of the apartment and the institute’s use of cameras. What do you think is Greenidge’s intent here?

Julia Toneybee-Leroy writes that she admires Callie because she has managed to stay emotionally open and loving. Is this stance something that ultimately hurts or benefits Callie?

Is Charlie a force for good or ill? Or is he a neutral force in this book?

Why do you think Adia demonstrates such confusing actions toward Charlotte?

Laurel says to Charlotte that the Breitlings “live for the breaking down. They don’t know anything about the building up” (page 183). She thinks that their activism and questioning are damaging. What are the benefits of speaking up in the face of wrongdoing? What are the drawbacks? In your personal experience, has speaking out against an injustice outweighed the drawbacks? How?

Dr. Gardner believes he “loves” African American people. What do you think he means when he uses that word? How do his actions prove or disprove his words?

Why do you believe Charles continues to love Laurel?

We Love You, Charlie Freeman Book Club Questions PDF

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A FINALIST FOR THE 2016 CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE 2017 YOUNG LIONS AWARD“Smart, timely and powerful . . . A rich examination of America’s treatment of race, and the ways we attempt to discuss and confront it today.” —The Huffington Post
“A magnificently textured, vital, visceral feat of storytelling . . . [by] a sharp, poignant, extraordinary new voice of American literature.” —Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger’s Wife

“Terrifically auspicious . . . Ms. Greenidge has charted an ambitious course for a book that begins so mock-innocently. And she lets the suspicion and outrage mount as the Freemans’ true situation unfolds. This author is also a historian, and she makes the '1929' on Toneybee plaque tell another, equally gripping story that strongly parallels the Freemans’ 1990 experience.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times
“…witty and provocative… Greenidge deftly handles a host of complex themes and characters, exploring not just how (literally) institutionalized racism is, but the difficulty of an effective response to it. … Greenidge doesn’t march to a pat answer; the power of the book is in her understanding of how clarity wriggles out of reach. For all the seriousness of its themes, though, Charlie Freeman is also caustically funny.” —USA Today

This recommended reading and discussion guide are shared and sponsored in partnership with Algonquin.