Book Club KitBeatrizWilliams.com

BeatrizWilliamsAuthor | BCWilliamsbooks | AuthorBeatrizWilliams

1. Frank is running for office in the dawning age of television politics. How have public perceptions

of politicians changed over the years in the media, and how would Frank’s story play out today?

2. Tiny lives in a bubble, far from the hippie culture of the 1960s. But how much is her journey re-

flected in the times?

3. Tiny is a contained person, private and full of secrets. She seeks to maintain this perfect façade.

Would she feel this way if she were a man? If she were born later rather than earlier in the twentieth

century?

4. Demands for obedience are ever present in Tiny’s life, especially in the areas of family, work, and

romance. How does she confront them?

5. Discuss Caspian’s role in the family. He’s a veteran and the person who perhaps knows Tiny best,

so what does his return mean for the Hardcastles and for Tiny?

6. What role does photography play in Tiny’s story? How would this be different if her story were

taking place today, with the Internet and social media?

7. Discuss Tiny’s time at Woodbridge Clinic. How does this play out in light of the times?

8. What do you think of Tiny’s political engagement, or lack thereof ? Do you wish she had been more

involved?

9. Discuss Tiny’s relationship with her family—how she does and doesn’t fit in with the other Schuylers.

Given the tension among them all, why is family still important to her?

10. What do you think about Mrs. Schuyler’s machinations and her role in Caspian and Tiny’s

relationship?

11. Infidelity and secrets are a running theme in both the Schuyler and the Hardcastle families. Dis-

cuss the patterns of unfaithfulness and betrayal throughout both family histories, and how those have

played out in the younger generations.

12. The Schuyler sisters are a complicated bunch, but Tiny is on a different path from the paths

Vivian and Pepper have chosen. How is Tiny similar to her sisters, and how is she different?

Reader ’s Guide Tiny Little Thing

A Drink While You Discuss

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and pour in the gin, lime juice, and simple syrup. Stir vigorously with a long cocktail spoon until very cold.

Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass, or strain over a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with the cucumber wheel or lime wedge and serve immediately.

The Classic Gimlet

Ingredients 2 ounces gin

3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

3/4 ounce simple syrup

Cucumber wheel or lime wedge, for garnish