The Turnout Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Nutcracker and our BookBrowse Review of The Turnout.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. In The Turnout, sisters Dara and Marie were home-schooled and raised in the ballet studio run by their mother. In what ways did the sisters have an atypical upbringing? How did their mother, and the rigorous structure of ballet training, influence them? How did Dara and Marie individually internalize this influence, and how do their differences manifest in adulthood? Are they so different after all?
2. Dara, Marie, and Charlie, Dara's husband, are a tightly enmeshed trio. Discuss both the personal and professional dynamics among them. What accounts for their closeness? In what way do their bonds transcend traditional sibling and sibling-in-law relationships?
3. Resistance to change is a big theme in this novel. Why do you think Dara, Marie, and Charlie are so insistent on maintaining the status quo? What are some things that come into their lives that disrupt that? Would these changes have happened without the introduction of Derek?

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