Angels All Over Town

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

Luanne Rice has captured the hearts of countless readers with such New York Times bestsellers as Beach Girls and Summer of Roses. Now, with Bantam's new edition of Angels All Over Town, which features moving, personal recollections from the author, we can rediscover the novel that started it all: Rice's debut, first published in 1985 to rave reviews, proves to be a timeless classic.

Angels All Over Town is the extraordinary story of Una Cavan and her sisters. Since their father's death, Una has been visited by his ghost, who drifts into and out of her life as casually as if he were entering and exiting a room. She craves his guidance; she and her siblings have always shared a special bond, but new developments in their lives threaten to leave them drifting apart. With another failed relationship behind her, and an acting career that defies her father's advice, Una struggles to remain hopeful about her future. Then an unexpected encounter gives her the answer she's been seeking, and a chance to challenge everything she ever believed about men and love.

Luanne Rice's triumphant first novel captures the essence of destiny and fate, sisterhood and memories–and the miracles that emerge even out of heartbreak. The question and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Luanne Rice's Angels All Over Town. We hope they will enrich your experience of this enchanting novel.

Reader's Guide

1. What was the effect of the author's note? What did you discover about the development of Luanne Rice's writing career?

2. Why might Una be the only Cavan sister to report having visions of her father? How would you characterize her memories of him? What did he teach her about life and love?

3. What did you discover about Una, Margo, and Lily during the August summer that opens the novel? What does that precious period of freedom reveal about their true selves?

4. What accounts for Lily's attraction to Henk? What choices would you have made if you had been in her shoes? How would you react if a close friend or sibling married someone so controlling?

5. Una frequently worries that she should have taken her father's advice and stayed at Julliard. What are the benefits and limitations of her life as a soap star? How does she view the notion of being an artist, and cultivating the passion for art shared by the women in her family?

6. Una tells Joe that family, scholarship, and chastity were drummed into her as she was growing up. What are the defining cultural traits of Joe's family? What did Una hope for in a relationship with him?

7. What is the dynamic among Una and her siblings? Do they share an equal balance of influence?

8. How does your level of trust compare to Una's? Is she too cautious about men, and too protective of her family, or is she not careful enough?

9. Discuss Una's friendship with Jason. How do his experiences with love compare to Una's? Does their soap storyline mirror their lives at all, or does it simply provide them with an income (and sometimes with comic relief)?

10. Flying overseas on the Concorde, Una has mixed feelings about her European tour. What turning points occur during the trip? What enables her to navigate such an extravagant world without becoming superficial?

11. Discuss the narrative style of the novel. What techniques does Luanne Rice use to create vivid scenery, realistic dialogue, and memorable characters? What advantages might there have been in the first-person narration? How would you describe Una's voice, and her outlook on life?

12. What qualities make Sam such an ideal guy? Was he right to object to Emile's presence at Thanksgiving? Do he and Una have a healthy approach to conflict?

13. How does Una's mother compare to yours? Do you believe that most daughters perpetuate the personalities and ideals of their mothers?

14. How did the time period affect Angels All Over Town? What aspects of family and relationships haven't changed at all since the book was first published? What details, such as the role of handwritten letters rather than transatlantic e-mails, mark a change in eras? Would this chapter of Una's life have played out any differently in the twenty-first century?

15. Discuss the book's title. Who are Una's angels? For whom does she serve as an angel?

16. What themes were begun in this novel and portrayed in other ways throughout Luanne Rice's later work? What hopes and transformations are captured in her fiction?