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Discussion
Questions
1. In the opening sequence
of Lucky Man, Lucky Woman, Perry is reading
this passage from Nietzsche: "When marrying, one should
ask oneself this question: Do you believe that you
will be able to converse well with this woman into
your old age? Everything else in marriage is transitory."
How is this philosopher important in understanding
Perry's great despair? And how does Perry's job as
a parole officer contribute to this free fall?
2. Fertility is an issue throughout, but more as a
device to exacerbate Perry's deep-seated fear of bringing
a child into the world. How have his childhood and
his job convinced him that his fears are real and
justified?
3. How do Perry's and Marcia's jobs define, at least
in part, their attitudes toward family, children,
and the future? How do they represent the two different
worlds Perry is attempting to negotiate? And how do
their very different backgrounds contribute to the
distance Perry feels growing between himself and his
wife?
4. Why is Perry so drawn to Angela? What, ultimately,
does she teach him about love and loss? The novel
suggests that it is possible to rise above one's past.
How is this particularly true of Angela?
5. What is so attractive about Perry to his friend
Wayne's life? And why, after a period of lobster fishing
and hiding out on the houseboat, does Perry decide
to reenter the domestic world he has so willingly
abandoned?
6. How does the lyrical prose of certain sections
resonate in ways that magnify a character's sadness
or remorse? And how so the accumulating details of
landscape help the reader to feel the weight of such
powerful emotions?
7. What drives Perry's recklessness? Is Wayne's explanation
satisfactory?
8. After Roland, Walt Balobas is the most important
of Perry's parolees. Why does Perry feel so close
to him? Why does he intercede to get Walt's sentence
reduced?
9. Marcia—responsible to marriage, family, job,
and a hopeful future—stands as one of the novel's
few "centered" characters. Is this her great strength,
or her weakness?
10. Perry suffers from recurring nightmares in which
Janine drowns again and again. No matter how deep
he dives, he can never rescue her. Why does Perry
feel so responsible for his sister's tragic death?
How does the jet-ski accident relate back to this
incident? Does Perry's traveling to Michigan help
in any way to put closure on this family tragedy?
Is there any reconciliation between him and his long-estranged
family?
11. In the Firebird scene, what does Roland teach
Perry about fatherhood?
12. Does the "dance" in the elementary school gym
that concludes the novel suggest that all is well?
Or is it less certain, less triumphant? What do you
think will happen to Perry and Marcia after the end
of the novel?
13. Lucky Man, Lucky Woman has been called
a novel of forgiveness. Who has been forgiven, and
why?
14. What is the meaning of "luck" in Lucky Man,
Lucky Woman? Is luck the same as fate or destiny?
Or can one change one's luck?
Praise for
Lucky Man, Lucky Woman
"Lucky is the reader who discover's Jack Driscoll's
Lucky Man, Lucky Woman. . . . Driscoll has
written the Great American Fertility Novel. . . .
A miraculous accomplishment."—San Francisco Chronicle
"As precisely orchestrated
as a symphony . . . the most honest story that can
be told, the most generous, and always straight to
the heart."—Pam Houston
"A funny, sad and beautifully
told tale of marriage in middle years, a love story
of hope and survival."—Detroit Free Press
"Compelling. . . . A seamless
and intricate love story, free of phony sentiment
and contrivance."—Grand Rapids Press
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