Under 200 Pages! discussion

All discussions to go in this folder. Share with us your thoughts on the book, ur favourite quote or line, the character you like the most or any or everything that you liked or disliked about this book.

Readers who have read the book already can also discuss the book but keep away from spoilers or use the spoiler tab.

A little about the Book
Laura Pritchett is an award-winning author who has quickly become one of the west’s defining literary voices. We first met hardscrabble ranchers Renny and Ben Cross in Laura’s debut collection, and now in Stars Go Blue , they are estranged, elderly spouses living on opposite ends of their sprawling ranch, faced with the particular decline of a fading farm and Ben’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is just on the cusp of dementia, able to recognize he is sick but unable to do anything about it —the notes he leaves in his pockets and around the house to remind him of himself, his family, and his responsibilities are no longer as helpful as they used to be. Watching his estranged wife forced into care-taking and brought to her breaking point, Ben decides to leave his life with whatever dignity and grace remains.

As Ben makes his decision, a new horrible truth comes to Ray, the abusive husband of their late daughter is being released from prison early. This opens old wounds in Ben, his wife, his surviving daughter, and four grandchildren. Branded with a need for justice, Ben must act before his mind leaves him, and sets off during a brutal snowstorm to confront the man who murdered his daughter. Renny, realizing he is missing, sets off to either stop or witness her husband’s act of vengeance.

Stars Go Blue is a triumphant novel of the American family, buffered by the workings of a ranch and the music offered by the landscape and animal life upon it.

Pages - 208

Looking forward to everyone’s active participation and fun discussion.

HAPPY READING!📚📚

I was really impressed with this one by the end. 😍

Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it's in the same zip code as the author Willy Vlautin who I'm a fan of. He writes in direct, unadorned prose about impoverished people in the West of the US who find themselves in impossibly difficult situations.

At the beginning, I found the story a bit slow and the characters - especially Renny - not very interesting/likeable. But along about the 1/3 to 1/2 mark fate steps in, the pace races forward and you are riveted.

It's a gut punch of a novel -- in the best sense of the word.

Yes, it's sad, but life is sometimes sad. There's beauty in everything, as the Cross family recognises, even death and dying.

Thanks to whoever recommended this one! I'd never have found it on my own. Pritchett is a real find and I'll probably read more of her one day. 💜

Culture note for those who might be too young, not American, or not into music: when Ben says he can't remember his daughter's dog's name but it reminds him of music, he's referencing the 1930s jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong whose nickname was "Satchmo".

Berengaria wrote: "I was really impressed with this one by the end. 😍

Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it's in the same zip code as the author Willy Vlautin who I'm a fan of. He writes in direct, u..."

Nice review. Enjoyed reading it. Hoping to enjoy it as well.

Hello Members!✋
How is everyone doing and has anyone started reading the Botm? if yes don’t forget to share ur thoughts and tell us what you think about the book.

Yes, I've read it and am finished! (Initial comments above) It's a great novel.

Here are three discussion questions it might be fun to talk about:

1. What do you think of Renny and did your opinion of her change throughout the novel?

2. What do you think of the vet's role in what happens to Ben? Do you agree with his decision to mislead Renny about the pink juice?

3. At the funeral, which of the speakers touched you most?

I own this book so will eventually get to it this month.

♥ Sandi ❣ wrote: "I own this book so will eventually get to it this month."

Sandi...just wanted to tell you. I went ahead and read Hell's Bottom, Colorado and at least 3 of the stories in there appear in their entirety in Stars Go Blue!

Hell's Bottom was her first book (2001) and it seems she recycled a fair bit out of it for SGB. Hell's Bottom is almost like reading the notes for this one. It's still good, but if you've read SGB, you've pretty much read HB.

Berengaria wrote: "♥ Sandi ❣ wrote: "I own this book so will eventually get to it this month."

Sandi...just wanted to tell you. I went ahead and read Hell's Bottom, Colorado and at least 3 of the stor..."

Thanks for letting me know. I will put off reading that one for awhile. I also changed my nomination. Thanks

Berengaria wrote: "Yes, I've read it and am finished! (Initial comments above) It's a great novel.

Here are three discussion questions it might be fun to talk about:

1. What do you think of Renny and did your opini..."

These are so great questions to discuss. Thanks for sharing.

♥ Sandi ❣ wrote: "I own this book so will eventually get to it this month."

Same here. Haven't started it yet but plan to get onto it soon.

I'm running a little behind with the botm and have finally managed start it. I'm already hooked and m quite liking Ben for now. Let's see what happens further.

I guess this is the second book in this series, what is the name of the first book?

Caroline wrote:
I guess this is the second book in ..."

It isn't really a series.

Pritchett's first book (2001) was Hell's Bottom, Colorado which has a number of the same characters and is a collection of linked stories, not a novel.

SGB, published in 2014, some 13 years later, contains at least 3 entire stories from Hell's Bottom which the author lifted and reused.

The story about how the ranch came to have the name Hell's Bottom is one of them. The exact same story -- word for word, no changes -- is in both books. 100% recycled.

This is why I say, if you've read SGB, you've read H's B. You get a lot more story with this one, whereas H's B reads like the notes to SGB.

I know that because I liked SGB so much, I also read H's B and her Playing with Wildfire: A Novel, which is also excellent, but not related to the other 2 works, at the beginning of this month. Pritchett has, I think, 2 more novels out besides these ones...none of which are linked to each other.

She's definitely one to read more of! But going back and reading her first work after reading this one is a real let down, I found.

Berengaria wrote: "Caroline wrote:
I guess this is the second book in ..."

It isn't really a series.

Pritchett's first book (2001) was Hell's Bottom, Colorado which has a number of the same characte..."

Hey Thanks for this lovely and detailed insight about this book.

That was the reason that I removed my nomination for Hell's Bottom and changed it to Running Red Dog Road.

Read this book yesterday. Thought it was good. This was a first read of Pritchett's work for me. Great, but sad, story. Short book with a lot to say.

Both the good and the bad of a lifetime of marriage. The loss of a daughter and the onset of Alzheimers. How they affected the family and the decisions made to circumvent those problems. You will meet and fall in love with Ben and Renny - with both their good and their bad. You will smile at their accomplishments and cry at their losses.

A lot packed into 200 pages and well worth the read.

♥ Sandi ❣ wrote: ."

What did you think of the character of Renny, Sandi? Did your opinion of her change as the novel progressed or did you more or less see her the same way the whole time?

No I felt the same way about Renny all the way thru. I don't think it was easy to be a ranchers wife or being Ben's wife for that matter. And losing a daughter could not have been easy. Not for either of them.

♥ Sandi ❣ wrote: "No I felt the same way about Renny all the way thru. ..."

I agree, it couldn't have been. But she seemed very abrasive, deflecting and fairly unkind to me at the beginning when they were at the Alzheimer's support, and how she mean talked her daughter and granddaughter.

But mentally writing the letter at the end in the snowstorm...there she showed she actually can care about things and not just throw barbs at them out of her own emotions and self-image of "I got grit" ...well, that changed my opinion of her.

Ben seemed to be a lovely man. Kind and thoughtful. He's difficult now, but he wasn't always. Seems to me, Renny always was a bag of rusty nails.

(I posted three discussion questions at the top of this thread. Shall we talk about those and maybe some other parts of the novel? )

What about you, Caroline? What did you think of the character of Renny?

Berengaria wrote: "What about you, Caroline? What did you think of the character of Renny?"

I’m onto the third part of the book and till now my opinion haven’t changed about Renny but again as Sandi said its difficult for her as a mother and a wife who husband is now dying of Alzheimer’s and the daughters murder released from jail.

She uses unkindness and rude behaviour as a guard and copying mechanism to drown the sorrow of losing her first born and now she is on the cust of losing her husband.

Finally finished reading this amazing story. Ben and Renny are gonna be my favourite book couple from now on. The 4th part of this book was overall so touching.

But i did like the pregnant woman speech on how overnight Ben helped change her life for better was the most touching.

I also think that silence played the biggest role in this book. Everyone knew what was happening but choice to stay silent.

Though this book is around 150 pages, it just felt so complete and was packed with emotion, grief, sadness and also of a history of happy life's lived before tragedy struck.

A highly recommended book. If members of this group have this still on your tbr, pick it up as soon as you can and read it.

The pregnant waitress was the one that touched me the most, too. I loved the fact that, although she only knew Ben for a very short time, that he had such a positive influence on her life.

Just goes to show that inspiration and help can show up in many different guises. Even in the guise of an elderly, confused man!

That's a great point about silence. The choice NOT to talk about something, to deflect or reject. Do they think they're being strong by doing that?

Pretty much everybody knows, for example, that Ben took the deadly pink juice from the vet's satchel...and yet they say nothing, believing they're the only one who knows. I found that, well, realistic that people would do that, but I've never understood people who hoard secrets and take no action, but who, after something bad happens, say "I knew that all along". Fine, and what good does it do now??

I also read her Playing with Wildfire: A Novel which is in the same style, but just as good, if not better than SGB. So, also recommendable!

Berengaria wrote: "The pregnant waitress was the one that touched me the most, too. I loved the fact that, although she only knew Ben for a very short time, that he had such a positive influence on her life.

Just g..."

Well said and so true.