Stuck in Manistique Page 34
I’m very grateful for the editors who worked on this book during various stages. I would not have been able to complete it without their guidance. Andi Cumbo-Floyd, Ronit Wagman, Ashley Strosnider, and Cindy Marsch. Their critiques and suggestions helped me improve the novel during each revision. And their thoughtful and kind words meant a great deal to me as I moved forward.
I’d also like to thank family and friends who read and gave their opinions and support. That includes Jennifer, Joan, and Loree, who dared to read the earliest—and longest—versions. Special thanks to The Real Book Club of Almaden (Jessica, Kerry, Laurie, Stephanie, Tina, and Jamie), who graciously read the novel as one of their monthly reads and allowed me to invade their reading group for one evening. Their feedback led to some important changes.
Finally, I’d like to thank my wife, Jamie. After we hit that deer in Manistique nearly twenty-five years ago—or did the deer hit us?—and we were stranded in town for those few days, I wistfully thought that I’d like to write a novel about it someday. Like most things I do, it took much longer than I had expected, so your patience, encouragement, and love will always be cherished. Thank you for indulging me a few years ago, agreeing to go back to Manistique as our summer vacation trip—we did have fun, though!
Topics and Questions for Discussion
Later in the novel, Emily admits that she probably wouldn’t have stayed at the B&B if Mark had been upfront about his aunt’s death. Was Mark wrong for not being completely truthful? For her part, was Emily justified in snooping around the house because she was suspicious of Mark?
Emily found medication in George’s room when she went searching for clues the morning he couldn’t be found. Should she have told Mark that George had cognitive issues or do doctors have an obligation to maintain medical confidentiality with non-patients?
Consider Mark’s reaction to Dr. Bulcher showing up at the house, and how Mark handled the full revelation when he spoke to Emily about it. What do you think motivated his response to her?
Discuss Emily’s internal conflict with Nicholas’s death. Does she deflect or accept too much blame?
Consider Emily’s flirtation with suicidal thoughts. She tells Mark, “Not that I would ever do that exactly.” Analyze her thoughts and actions and discuss whether you think her statement is completely credible.
Mark was influenced by his mother Margaret’s stories about doctor-suicide. Given all his information, should he have barged into Emily’s room the way he did? What about Emily’s decision to leave the Manistique Victorian? In particular, consider her reaction as it relates to Question #5.
Why did Emily decide to go downstate to meet with Dr. Greg Olsen? Discuss her decision not to tell Greg the entire truth about that night. Compare this to Mark’s tendency to withhold information.
Emily confesses to Mark that she had turned around and was heading east toward Mackinac when she got into her accident. Would Emily have turned around again, as Mark suggested, or do you think she would have made it to Mackinac if not for the accident?
Was fate really cruel to deer, as Mark said to Emily? Point out instances in the novel where fate appears to intervene.
Discuss any parallels between Emily and Vivian. What does the text not reveal but might be inferred from their similar (and intertwined) stories?
At the end of the book, it is revealed that Mark’s Aunt Vivian was his biological mother. Discuss points in the book where Mark is pulled between nature and nurture, between the predispositions inherited from his biological mother and the acquired behaviors from the mother who raised him?
In the end Mark and Emily don’t end up together romantically, but they end up as friends—a kinship, as it were. What do you think of this conclusion and how do you feel about it?
For those familiar with Fawlty Towers, name the corresponding characters that show up in the novel. Which scenes/episodes appear similarly in the book?
About the Author
A native of California, Dennis Cuesta attended the University of Michigan and remained in the Upper Midwest during his early career. Stuck in Manisitque is his first novel. . . .Dennis and his wife did get stuck in Manistique once, long ago. The interrupted trip served as inspiration for the novel.