Host An Unforgettable Book Club Party

The Mulvaneys are living the American ideal. Patriarch, Michael is a successful businessman.  His wife, Corinne cheerfully tends to their chaotic brood of high-achieving, good looking children; athletic Mike Jr., brainy Patrick, sweet cheerleader and only daughter Marianne, and youngest son Judd.  Michael and Corinne are raising their family on a picturesque farm with a gaggle of pets and barnyard animals in a small community where the family is both envied and esteemed. But this ideal family begins to slowly and painfully fall apart after tragedy befalls Marianne following her high school prom in 1976.

Book Club Ideas

Although We Were the Mulvaneys is a rather somber novel, the family comes together for a festive 4th of July celebration.  Corinne decorated with red, white and blue streamers and napkins, American flag table runners, and little flags.  But no fireworks!  These were forbidden by Corinne.

In keeping with the theme, choose some patriotic tunes such as those found on 4th Of July: Music For Independence Day.

Book Club Menu

There was so much food at the Mulvaney 4th of July picnic, preparing a menu for the book club party should be a snap.

 The main course included hotdogs, grilled hamburgers, chicken with Sable’s Special Texas Hot Sauce, and a Virginia ham.

The family prepared yellow squash from Corinne’s garden, Judd brought sweet corn, and there were salads, muffins, and biscuits.

Watermelon Cucumber Salad

Sweet Corn

For dessert choose one or more of Judd’s four birthday cakes.  A fudgey chocolate cake, Whit’s Carrot Pumpkin Ginger Yogurt Pound Cake, an angel food cake with sculpted egg white frosting, or a strawberry ice cream cake in a heart-shaped pan. Check out this fancy strawberry ice cream cake from epicurious.com.

Chocolate Cake

Whit’s Carrot Pumpkin Ginger Yogurt Pound Cake proved to be a bit of challenge.
After some experimentation and two cakes later, I got it!

Visit our 4th of July recipe page for more recipes.

Book Club Resources

Ratings at the time this post was published

Discussion

1. How did you feel about Joyce Carol Oates’ use of Judd Mulvaney, the baby of the family, as the primary narrator. Why do you think Ms. Oates used Judd in this way? Did you find it effective? Distracting?
2. Why did Marianne refuse to press charges?  Did Marianne blame herself for what happened?  Or did she have other reasons?
3. How did you feel about Michael’s treatment of Marianne?  Why did Michael react the way he did?
4. Corinne was faced with a dilemma regarding Marianne and Michael.  Why do you think she chose one over the other?  Would you have reacted the same way?  Why or why not?
5. Although, the incident involving Marianne and the reactions to it contributed to the family’s falling apart, did you find any hints in the novel that fracture lines already existed?
6. Where you satisfied with the novel’s conclusion?   Why or why not?

Purchase We Were the Mulvaneys at your favorite bookseller

The Author

		Joyce Carol Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished professor in the Humanities at Princeton University.  She has been received awards and recognition for several of her numerous works.
		Them, National Book Award 1970 Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart, National Book Award Nominee 1990 Blonde, National Book Award Nominee 2000 Black Water, National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist 1992 Zombie, Lilla Risk Rand Fiction Award 1995 We Were the Mulvaneys, New York Times “Notable Book of the Year” What I Lived For, PEN/Faulkner Award and Pulitzer Prize Nominee 1995

Joyce Carol Oates has also been recognized by the Rea Award for the Short Story, the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Institute of Arts and Letters, the Lotus Club, and the 1996 PEN/Malamud Award for lifetime achievement in the short story form.

Other Works by Joyce Carol Oates

For a complete list of Joyce Carol Oates’ works please click here.

Personal Insights, Favorite Quotes, etc…

Do you have a favorite quote from We Were the Mulvaneys?  Here is one of mine …

“In a family, what isn’t spoken is what you listen for. But the noise of a family is to drown it out.”

Joyce Carol Oates reflects on her epic family novel We Were the Mulvaneys “…it came in time, to remind me, so very unexpectedly, of a Shakespearean tragedy in which no one is actually “wrong” and yet all suffer.

Do you have any other ideas or recipes for a book club party for We Were the Mulvaneys? We would love to have you share them with us! You can leave a comment below and upload pictures as well.