The View from Mount Joy

Reader's Guide

1. Do you think Joe and Darva secretly yearned for a relationship with each other? Can a strictly platonic relationship such as theirs occur in real life?

2. How much of Joe’s life and personality was shaped by the loss of his father at such a young age?

3. Who has lived a more fulfilling life–Joe, with his simple, quiet life, or Kristi, with her adventurous life in the spotlight?

4. Did Joe give up on his hockey dreams too easily? Was he being cowardly and taking the easy road?

5. Do you applaud Kristi’s ambitious nature and her refusal to let her dreams get away from her?

6. Joe and Kristi seem to be fated to cross paths time and time again. What is their fascination with each other?

7. It’s obvious that the women in Joe’s life greatly influenced him, but how did his relationships with the men in his life shape him?

8. Was it fair for Lorna Landvik to feed into the typical cheerleader stereotypes?

9. Does Kristi mistake power and fame for happiness? Is she capable of being truly happy?

10. If Darva had not died, do you think Joe would have found happiness? Would he have stayed unmarried, living with his best friend and her daughter?

11. All of the characters experience happiness, tragedy, failures, and successes. Do you think The View from Mount Joy realistically portrays the progression of a life?

12. Did Kristi really love Tuck or did she love the fame that life with him would bring?

13. Jenny, the love of Joe’s life, plays a minor role in the book, compared to Darva and Kristi. Why do you think Lorna Landvik does this?

14. Is Joe a believable narrator? Would you have rather had both Kristi and Joe narrate the story?