Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Thunderstruck & Other Stories by Elizabeth McCracken

1. Many of these stories center on someone dealing with extreme loss—-the death or decline of a child or partner. What are the different ways characters rise out of their grief? Similarly, what strategies does Elizabeth McCracken use to keep the book from being mired in tragedy?
2. In "Something Amazing," we meet the ghost of Missy Goodby. What other characters in these stories could be read as ghosts?
3. In the conversation included here, Ann Patchett reveals that three of the stories were once part of a novel that McCracken ultimately abandoned. Can you make a case for any story trio or trios being part of a single narrative?
4. The homes that punctuate these stories are often run--down, seedy, sad, or scary, and always unforgettable—-Joyce's house on Winter Terrace, Stony's rental, the property in southern France, the Blackbirds' Victorian. What role do the structures they live in play in the characters' emotional lives? Discuss the relationship between "houses" and "homes" in this collection.
5. Romantic love is not at the heart of this collection. Do you agree or disagree?
6. What is the role of travel in this collection? In what ways do foreign lands exist as fantasy for the characters, and in what way as reality?
7. What do you make of the end of "Thunderstruck"? Is Wes painting or is Helen? Discuss the interplay between the cynical and the miraculous in this story, and in the collection as a whole.
8. How do you interpret "Thunderstruck" as the title of the story? Which character is most "thunderstruck"? What about as the title of the whole collection?
9. McCracken is terrific at closing lines. Do you have a favorite? How would you describe the feeling it leaves you with?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Dial Press. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.