The Scenic Route (28 page)

Books are like children. It takes a village to make them strong. I'm fortunate to have many people to thank for keeping this book—and its author—out of harm's way. They are: Danielle Perez, Deborah Schneider, Stacey Luftig, Anne Newgarden, Badria Jazairi, Frank Basloe, Stephen Gaydos, Idra Novey, Robert Woletz, Tina Fineberg, Nicola Wheir, Heidi Giovine, Daniel Jussim, Shifra Diamond, Scott Sher, Eileen Fine, Darol Sipher, Sandy Sipher, Angelo Pacella, Jami Bernard, Jeff Nishball, Megan Gillin-Schwartz, Ami Angelowicz, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Mort Milder, Rhonda Goldstein, Cathy Gleason, Victoria Marini, Loren Jaggers, Joseph Cortes, Sandra Engelson and Bruce Yaffe. And I'd like to thank Lisa Krieger for inspiring me with her strength and
courage.

1. Early in the book, Naomi tells Austin that there's no such thing as a wrong turn. Do you agree or disagree and why?

2. How would you describe a “manstrosity”? Do you know any?

3. Mandy theorized that the flawed choices humans make in their romantic pursuits are a genetic trait rather than a personal failure. Do you think that's likely true or wishful thinking? Were Mandy's flawed choices an implicit part of who she was?

4. Have you ever seen the Lumière film
Sortie d'Usine
? One version (of three) is viewable at the Institut Lumière Web site: http://www .institut-lumiere.org/english/frames.html. (Go to the “Lumiere Museum” section and click on “Films.”) What stands out for you in the film? Do you think the film depicts something literal, metaphoric or both? Why do you think Naomi watched it over and over?

5. When Naomi told Austin she loved him, what should he have done? Was he morally obligated to be faithful to Dallas? Or was he being unnecessarily self-sacrificing?

6. Is Lila on to something with her plan to run away from home in her fifties? What are the advantages to waiting to sow your wild oats until your middle-age years? What are the disadvantages?

7. Do you believe there are “red-light people” and “green-light people”? What do you think are the characteristics of each? Do you believe a person can change from one to the other? And what did Dallas mean when she said Austin was yellow?

8. Why did Austin lash out at his mother while Mandy was in the hospital? Do you think Austin truly believes his father had a choice in his death? Why would Austin believe that?

9. Is Noah right about romantic partners each playing yin to the other's yang? Have you ever felt like you were locked in an unintended role in a relationship?

10. Austin starts the book wanting to follow a safe and cautious path in life. Was his problem that he chose an impossible goal or that he didn't do a good enough job of pursuing it? And in a world where we can't count on hospitals—or even cities—remaining solvent, what remains a safe bet?

11. Tad's title for Mandy's dissertation is “The Evolution of Love.” Would that have been a good title for the novel as well? Why or why not?

12. If Austin had told Naomi he was falling for her when they first met, the trajectory of their lives for the remainder of the book would be significantly different. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that they ended up taking “the scenic route”?

PHOTO © TINA FINEBERG

Devan Sipher
is a writer of the
New York Times
's “Vows” wedding column and the author of
The Wedding Beat
. He graduated from the University of Michigan, where he also attended medical school, and he received a master of fine arts from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He was born in Los Angeles, grew up in Southfield, Michigan, and lives in Manhattan.