Featured Reading Guide
Alice Hoffman
On the night that Arlyn Singer s father dies, she is certain her destiny will find her. Some hours later a young man shows up at her door. Lost in a strange town, John Moody is an architectural student, serious, reserved, and deliberate. And he has no inkling that the tall, red-haired girl whom he has asked for directions will haunt him for the rest of his life. John Moody takes Arlyn to live in a house made of glass, the Glass Slipper. Her life there is not the romantic destiny she envisaged. She dreams of escape for herself and her children, Sam and Blanca, but her eventual escape, too, is not…
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Alice Hoffman is the bestselling author of many successful novels and screenplays, including Here on Earth (Oprah Book Club Choice in 1998), Illumination Nights, Turtle Moon, Practical Magic (made into a recent major film) Local Girls and The River King. She lives in Massachusetts.
topAbout the Book
On the night that Arlyn Singer s father dies, she is certain her destiny will find her. Some hours later a young man shows up at her door. Lost in a strange town, John Moody is an architectural student, serious, reserved, and deliberate. And he has no inkling that the tall, red-haired girl whom he has asked for directions will haunt him for the rest of his life. John Moody takes Arlyn to live in a house made of glass, the Glass Slipper. Her life there is not the romantic destiny she envisaged. She dreams of escape for herself and her children, Sam and Blanca, but her eventual escape, too, is not the one she dreamed of… Years later, Arlyn is gone, and Meredith Weiss arrives at the Moody house. Sam, now a teenager, is careening down a path of drug-fuelled self-destruction, while John Moody is tormented by visions of a red-haired woman in white. Meredith sets out to try to save this troubled family. But will her devotion be enough to pull them back from the fate they seem to have chosen for themselves? Glass breaks, love hurts, and families make their own rules and have their own secrets. Told with Alice Hoffman s signature grace and originality, SKYLIGHT CONFESSIONS is a shimmering, powerful story of passion, heartbreak and families.
topAlice Hoffman interview/review
Interview taken from Barnes & Noble website.
- What were the books that most influenced your life or your career as a writer?
Edward Eager’s brilliant series of suburban magic: Half Magic , Magic by the Lake , Magic or Not , Knight’s Castle , The Time Garden , Seven-Day Magic , The Well Wishers. Anything by Ray Bradbury, Shirley Jackson, J. D. Salinger, Grace Paley. My favorite book: Emily Brontë‘s Wuthering Heights .
- What are your favorite books, and what makes them special to you? Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger Grace Paley’s The Collected Stories We Have always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson Grimm’s fairy tales Half Magic by Edward Eager All are beautiful, essential, single voices. I love them all.
- What are some of your favorite films? It’s a Wonderful Life Vertigo Bell , Book and Candle The Philadelphia Story Anything with Jimmy Stewart The Fifth Element Arsenic and Old Lace The Matrix Anything with Cary Grant
- What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you’re writing? Bob Dylan Bob Dylan Bob Dylan
- If you had a book club, what would it be reading — and why? All the books we read as children, moving up in time.
- What are your favorite kinds of books to give — and get — as gifts? Journals, the smaller the better. Atlases, star charts, photography books.
- Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you’re writing? On my desk: Photos of dogs, photos of kids, photos of dogs that have passed on, rocks, stones, roses. The major ritual — close the door.
- Many writers are hardly “overnight success” stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes? I was helped enormously by the kindness of my mentor, Albert Guerard and my agent of thirty years, Elaine Markson. All luck, all kindness. Including my first rejection note, sent by Esquire when I was sixteen — hand-written, taking me seriously, and telling me to send another story when I grew up. I intend to.
- If you could choose one new writer to be “discovered,” who would it be — and why? Someone who sounds like no one else on earth; someone who doesn’t know what the word irony means, or doesn’t care. Someone who’s fearless. What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered?
Discover yourself — that’s all there is.
topStarting Points for Discussion
- In what way is Skylight Confessions a modern fairy tale?
- How important is fate in the novel?
- How do you feel towards John Moody? Does he care about his family?
- Is Sam beyond help? Could he ever be saved?
- ‘[Arlyn] believed there was an ending to all stories, a right and proper last page’ (p.15) Is this true of Skylight Confessions ?
- Do you think that George and Arlyn’s affair is a ‘big mistake’?
- What does the ‘glass slipper’ represent?
- To what extent is this book about the fragility of family life?
- How does grief affect the characters’ personalities?
- a) Do you think Sam and Bianca’s lives would have been different if Meredith had never come to live with them? b) How is Meredith changed by her experience
with the family?
- John and Meredith are haunted by ghosts of the past. Are they real ghosts?
Other Books by Alice Hoffman
Blackbird House
From the great May storm in 1778 when John Hadley and his sons slip the British…
Blue Diary
This dark and utterly compelling new novel is about the shadows that lie be…
Here On Earth
March Murray returns to the small town where she grew up for a funeral and …
Illumination Night
Vonny lives on the island of Martha’s Vineyard with her husband Andre and son…
Local Girls
In this series of connected stories young Gretel Samuelson comes of age in a…
Practical Magic
From one of the most captivating storytellers in American fiction comes a tale…
Property Of
The Night of the Wolf. On the Avenue in the bleak area where New York City …
Suggested Further Reading
- The Time Traveler’s Wife ~ Audrey Niffenegger (Vintage, 2005) – read our guide
- Runaway ~ Alice Munro (Vintage, 2006)
- Amateur Marriage ~ Anne Taylor (Vintaqe, 2004) – read our guide
- Vanishing Acts ~ Jodi Picoult (Vintage, 2006)
- The Position ~ Meg Woltizer (Vintage, 2006)
- The Bloody Chamber ~ Angela Carter (Vintage, 1992) – read our guide
- Crow Lake ~ Mary Lawson (Vintage 2003) – read our guide
This is the best book that I ever read.
Posted by neoka on 2010-01-27