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The Author on Her Work
My closest friend sometimes calls me "The Complicator," and though I don't
really like the characterization, in my reluctant heart of hearts I think she
may be right. In fact, the genesis of The Honey Wall may be a case in
her point.
In the late 1990s, after writing stories for many years, I began a novel in
which one of the narrative threads involved the thoughts of a man who had no
capacity to turn short-term memory into long-term, and whose "present" was a
continuing series of disconnected stretches of five minutes. I have to admit:
it was complicated. And after a few enforced months away from it, I found that
it was too complicated even for me. Instead, I challenged myself to write
something simple and straightforward, something that involved orthodox
storytelling with its beginning-middle-end arc.
I came up with the idea of a woman named Nina who moves to a small town and
becomes a conduit for the stories of her talkative new neighbors.
Straightforward, lots of storytelling. The first story I wrote was Bill's: a
hard life upended early by a disastrous affair with a new sister-in-law. I
wrote it start to finish and felt that I'd sustained the narrative voice pretty
well. Straightforward, simple storytelling. I was ready to go on to the next
when, without meaning to, I became interested in Nina's reaction to Bill's
story. And then I became interested in Nina herself. And before long, I had
two parallel stories, two narrative voices, several time frames . . . and The
Honey Wall was born. Though it may not be the simple storytelling I'd
first envisioned, it has taken the form that, for me, is the best way to tell
these couple of stories about the complications of love.
Discussion
Questions
1. What effect does the structure of The Honey Wall—three parts,
each with chapters set in various years—have that a straight chronological
story would not have? Do you think this is "the best way to tell these couple
of stories about the complications of love"?
2. The Honey Wall tells several stories and comments on the importance
of stories in our lives. In telling and listening to stories, what do we learn
about ourselves and others? About the present and the past? Why does Bill feel
compelled to share his story with Nina? What is it about the story—and
about Bill himself—that gets under her skin? Do you agree with Tony that
Bill shares his story with Nina as a kind of seduction? In what way is Nina a
storyteller? Is she a trustworthy one? Is Bill?
3. How are the disparate stories of Nina and Bill's lives connected? What and
how do we learn about Eva's and Tony's sides of the stories? Why do you think
the author chose to write only through Nina's and Bill's points of view?
4. What does Nina's work, as a mechanic and a creator of kinetic toys, reveal
about her? What does the work that Eva, Bill, and Tony do reveal about them?
5. What part do the landscapes of rural Pennsylvania and Vermont play in the
novel? What is Nina's relationship to the natural world? How does it evolve as
she moves from New York to Vermont to Pennsylvania? What does this evolution
tell us about Nina?
6. What is Bill's relationship to Overton? What does it mean to him to return
home after living elsewhere for so many years?
7. Discuss the theme of betrayal in The Honey Wall. How do the various
characters cope with being betrayed or with the guilt of having betrayed a
loved one? What are the causes and consequences of their infidelities? Do you
think any of the characters is innocent of betrayal?
8. Explore the novel's conflicting themes of individuality/independence and
intimacy/involvement with another person. Describe Nina and Tony's
relationship. What shapes their romantic attachment to each other? What
threatens their relationship? What keeps them together? Think about the other
relationships in the novel-Eva and Joe, Eva and Bill, Bill's mother and
father, Diane and George. What do you think the author is saying about love and
intimacy? About longing and desire?
9. Describe both Bill and Nina's relationships with their parents. How has
each of them managed-or not-to escape the confines of family?
10. What are the different views of motherhood presented in The Honey
Wall? Why does Nina not want children? How would you compare Diane and Eva
as mothers? How are traditional views of motherhood and marriage confirmed or
challenged in this novel?
11. Describe some of the female friendships in the novel. What is their
importance for Nina? What binds the women together, and what threatens to
undermine their friendships? How are Nina's friendships with Diane and Chris
different from her relationships with the various men in her life?
12. "The sound of the river enveloped her." What is the draw of the river for
Nina? For Bill? Describe the various scenes and stories in the novel set
around the river and discuss how the river in particular, and water in general,
function in The Honey Wall.
13. Describe some of the secondary characters in the novel—Diane, Chris,
Alan, Joe, Jack, Nick. Are they simply foils to the main characters, or
catalysts for change?
14. Describe the image of the honey wall, its meaning for the main characters,
and its significance to the novel as a whole.
15. What do the various characters learn about forgiveness and compassion by
the end of the novel? Do you think Nina and Tony have forgiven each other in
the end? How did your feelings about them change over the course of reading
the novel?
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