Welcome to BOOK CLUB, which I run with co-conspirator Nicole from Linus’s Blanket. Today we will be chatting about The Explanation for Everything by Lauren Grodstein, from Algonquin Books. For those of you reading this post, please remember that this discussion may contain spoilers.
Here is the publisher’s synopsis of the book:
There is nothing inherently threatening about Melissa, a young evangelist hoping to write the definitive paper on intelligent design. But when she implores Andy Waite, a biology professor and a hardcore evolutionist, to direct her independent study, she becomes the catalyst for the collapsing house of cards surrounding him. As he works with Melissa, Andy finds that everything about his world is starting to add up differently. Suddenly there is the possibility of faith. But with it come responsibility and guilt-the very things that Andy has sidestepped for years.
Professor Waite is nearing the moment when his life might settle down a bit: tenure is in sight, his daughters are starting to grow up, and he’s slowly but surely healing from the sudden loss of his wife. His life is starting to make sense again-until the scientific stance that has defined his life(and his work) is challenged by this charismatic student.
There is nothing inherently threatening about Melissa, a young evangelist hoping to write the definitive paper on intelligent design. But when she implores Andy Waite, a biology professor and a hardcore evolutionist, to direct her independent study, she becomes the catalyst for the collapsing house of cards surrounding him. As he works with Melissa, Andy finds that everything about his world is starting to add up differently. Suddenly there is the possibility of faith. But with it come responsibility and guilt-the very things that Andy has sidestepped for years.I may be updating this post with new questions and ideas over the course of the day.
Here we go:
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First off, what were your general impressions of the book?- Is this a book you would have read had you not been reading it for a book club?
- What did you think about the following characters?
– Andy
– Melissa
– Sheila
– Lou
– Rosenblum - How did you feel about how faith was handled over all throughout the book (faith in God and/or science)?
- How did you feel about where Andy ended up on the faith continuum?
- What did you think of the way Grodstein incorporated the Anita Kim storyline?
First off, what were your general impressions of the book?Copies of The Explanation for Everything were provided to facilitate this discussion.
Reviews by participants: Love at First Book; Karen White
If you have reviewed The Explanation for Everything and are participating in today’s discussion, please include a link in the comment thread below and your review will be added here.
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