Strange Fits of Passion
Submitted by Jean Trounstine (profile)

Title and Author: Strange Fits of Passion by Anita Shreve
Genre: Novel
Themes: Domestic violence or the dark side of marriage; the question of truth; moral versus legal law (set in the 1970s)
Class type: Women

This is a real page-turner, and because of that, I use it as a book to get the women into reading early on in the semester. It is written in very clear language, has a strong narrative thread, and has characters that they relate to. The main character, Maureen, chooses to flee with her infant child because of an abusive husband and lands in a small town in Maine. The issue of being a single mom on the run hits hard for many of the women reading this book and discussing the choices that Maureen makes - ranging from where she lives, how she talks to people, what she does about her brute of a husband, and the affair she has and hides - lead to many interesting class conversations. Because the book also deals with the question of whose reality is the truth, it is organized around presenting different characters' points of view, including the reporter who writes about Maureen's case in an article.

This can be difficult for the women. They often have trouble when one chapter is from one character's frame of reference and the next is from another's. But because the women want to know what will happen, they do get through the structural issues. It's also possible to help them with the structure at the class during which the book is assigned as reading. Tell them about the way the book is set up, and show them how to keep track of who's who. Sometimes the women will keep a little chart of characters so they can remember. I always encourage them to take notes, particularly when a book is not told from just one character's point of view or presented in a simple linear fashion.

This book is also interesting because it deals with a trial and the outcome of a trial. Women in trouble with the law love trials, and they always ask the judge in our group how he would have sentenced Maureen. It gives them a way to resist authority if they choose or the freedom to solicit opinions from a judge, and his answers may be different from their assumptions. This deepens the conversation and the relationship of the court to the literature group.

Suggested questions: At the back of Shreve's novel, there are many good questions that take you concretely through the book. Some of my favorites are:

1. Why is Maureen attracted to Harrold?
2. How well can you really know another person?
3. Is Maureen resigned to the fact that her husband will find her?
4. Do you think Maureen was justified in killing her husband?
5. Can the truth ever be told from one person's point of view?
6. Why does the reporter want Maureen's daughter to have her notes?
7. What do we learn about the patterns of domestic violence through this story? What could be done differently today to help Maureen?