Adult Book Discussion: She's Come Undone

I am a huge fan of Wally Lamb, and have read each of his books at least once. Last year, I chose She's Come Undone for our discussion group. This was another title that I read as a young adult and enjoyed, chose it for my book club, and then reread the racy parts, horrified I had just assigned the story. I don't mind raciness in books at all. I order the Romance collection, so it would be a pretty major issue if I couldn't handle a little narrative intimacy. However, my book club has been meeting for 14 years, and they have guided the reading choices in a certain direction. Nobody enjoys reading 'dirty' stories, so I don't choose them. That's why I've dipped into YA titles lately.

This book was a little too long for us. It was over 300 pages and spanned one character's tragic, difficult life. It was just too much for some of the participants to wade through, and a few people gave up before the ending.

Dolores, the main character, is no stranger to poor decision making, and it's sometimes painful to read. While that can make for a good discussion, we agreed that it was a bit like watching a train wreck. I'm trying to find books we can escape into--not books that bring us down. I think I struck out with this title.

Topics we discussed:

• Why is Dolores so self destructive?
• Do you blame her for her actions, or is she a product of her environment?
• What role does music play in this story? What does it mean to Dolores? How does it break up the plot?
• What if this had been during a different time? Or in a different place? (I know this makes almost all of the 'topic' lists in my posts, but it always comes up!)

So, I probably won't choose this as a book club book again. I do recommend Wally Lamb books on your own time, though. They're truly fantastic. If you have a group that's willing to get a bit more raw in their discussion, this may be a great pick for you.