Tuesday Nights in 1980 Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, New York City's SoHo District and our BookBrowse Review of Tuesday Nights in 1980.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Discuss the 1980 "Portrait of Manhattan" offered here. How does New York City act as its own of character throughout the novel? How does it change and grow? How would you describe a portrait of your own home, in 2015?
2. James' first journalism teacher claims that there is "influence in oddity." How do we find ways to absorb difference into our identity? Discuss James complex relationship to his synesthesia.
3. Like James, we all have a "Running List of Worries." What do think would be on Lucy or Raul's list? Marge or Arlene? Why do you think it is so much easier to internalize our regret over our accomplishments?

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