The Wagon discussion

Discussion thread for Chapters 23 - the end.

Ah, the ending. I loved it. I enjoy it when NO loose ends are tied up, because that's just how life is - it goes on.

Not going to say how late I was up reading...

The only part I didn't like was how Minny left the husband. I know, when Minny decides to do something she doesn't talk about it - she does it. It's just that she's put up with this for years and years and it's at the end of the book she's had enough. That was the only part that felt a little forced to me.

Everything else; love.

We're now on to wrap up week, so I'll post a question a day from the suggested book club questions:


Who was your favorite character? Why?

I started this late, but ended up reading it in two days, finishing it last night before the baseball game. :)

It's hard for me to choose a favorite character. I think it's a toss-up between Aibilene and Celia. Aibilene just loves raising those kids so much but has to leave before they are grown so she doesn't hear them take on the racist traits of their parents, but she keeps on going.

The more I read, the more interesting I found Celia. She was trying so hard to fit in with the rich crowd now that she married into it, but they just wouldn't let her in. She just couldn't get the hang of how to dress properly, etc., but I loved that her husband loved her no matter what. I also liked that she was a bit like Huck Finn in that she didn't understand the lines people put between different parts of society. She liked Minny, wanted to have coffee with her, physically defended her. I think she was a genuinely good person who didn't understand the politics of the society in which she lived.

Mindy in PA

Sorry I've been crazy busy this week...

I think my favorite was Skeeter. She was trying so hard, when hard truths starting appearing before her, she took them on. She didn't turn her back, Skeeter really tried to understand and also understood that because she was white and privileged there were just some things she was never going to fully understand.

Next question:
Like Hilly, Skeeter’s mother is a prime example of someone deeply flawed yet somewhat sympathetic. She seems to care for Skeeter— and she also seems to have very real feelings for Constantine. Yet the ultimatum she gives to Constantine is untenable; and most of her interaction with Skeeter is critical. Do you think Skeeter’s mother is a sympathetic or unsympathetic character? Why?

I finished this book in, I think, 3 nights and then forgot to come and post...LOL

I thoroughly enjoyed the book! Again, not necessarily something I would've selected on my own, but that made it all the more interesting.

My favorite characters would have to be Skeeter & Celia. The two women couldn't have been more different (looks, upbringing, etc), yet they were so much alike. Stubborn, strong-willed, determined, yet also quite innocent in various aspects of their lives.

Overall, a very enjoyable book! I look forward to the next RAL.

I wasn't able to start reading until this week, and kept sneaking a chapter in here or there all week - I just wanted to curl up and read! :)

Loved the book, beginning to end. I definitely identified with Skeeter, both from the love of writing and also being the girl that felt removed and odd in her circle of friends. I adored Aibilene. I just want to sit down with a cuppa and listen to stories of her seventeen children. :)