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Book club questions for The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange explore the themes of family loyalty, personal redemption, hidden secrets, unlikely love, and the delicate balance between shielding each other from painful truths and facing the challenges of honesty. The questions also delve into the characters’ growth, the impact of their past on their present, and the intricate connections that shape their lives.
Very interesting book! I appreciate Tracey Lange’s approach to developing the backstory. The initial details about each Connelly are basic, and then gradually, as we move through the chapters, the missing pieces are revealed.
What were your impressions of this novel? ✨
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange
I hope you will enjoy the thoughtfully crafted book club questions tailored for The Connellys of County Down in this blog post. I have also left a downloadable PDF version designed for your book clubs (available at the bottom of the post), along with supplementary suggestions for books that share similar themes and narratives.
Let me know if you find these book club questions useful. I’m excited to hear your unique perspectives during your book club discussions. You can leave your thoughts in the comment section, or send me an email.
Book Club Questions | Additional Recommendations | Printable List
About the Story
The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange is a heartfelt tale about Tara Connelly, who is trying to rebuild her life after being released from prison.
Returning to her family, she grapples with her siblings’ own struggles. Amid these challenges, an unexpected love blossoms, but the family’s hidden secrets threaten their future.
As they confront their fears and truths, the story explores the strength of love and loyalty, highlighting the complexities of starting anew while facing painful realities.”
About the Author
Tracey Lange, a Bronx-born and Manhattan-raised author, hails from a large Irish family tinged with hidden stories.
After graduating from the University of New Mexico, she co-ran a behavioral healthcare business for fifteen years with her husband. Her debut novel, “We Are the Brennans,” was crafted while completing the Stanford University online novel writing program.
Today, she resides in Bend, Oregon, alongside her husband, two sons, and a German Shepherd.
Book Club Questions for The Connellys of County Down
1. Discuss the childhood tragedy that marked the lives of the Connelly siblings. How did this event shape their sibling dynamics? Were there any unexpected revelations or nuances that stood out to you?
2. Tara holds onto secrets to safeguard her siblings. Do you believe there are scenarios where keeping information hidden from loved ones is justifiable, or do you think that concealed truths will inevitably lead to complications?
3. In the initial stages of the narrative, how did you perceive Geraldine, and how did your perception evolve as the story unfolded? Did your empathy towards her grow as her character developed?
4. How does Tara’s interaction with Brian Nolan, the detective who arrested her, complicate the story? What do you think draws Brian to Tara despite their history?
5. The novel starts with Tara Connelly being released from prison after serving time on a drug charge. How does her past affect her relationships with her siblings and the other characters in the story?
6. Discuss the dynamics within the Connelly family. How does the absence of their mother and their brother’s accident impact their relationships and individual paths in life?
7. What do you think is preventing Eddie from pursuing the life he desires?
8. Explore the unlikely bond between Tara and Brian. What drew them to each other, and how did their relationship deepen? What were your expectations or hopes regarding the trajectory of their connection?
9. Imagination plays a pivotal role in the story. How does Tara utilize her imagination to her advantage and to aid those around her? How does the author employ the tale of “The Connellys of County Down” to provide deeper insights into the Connelly family’s circumstances?
10. Tara’s artistic endeavors assist her during her time in prison and once again when she seeks new employment. Do you have a creative hobby, and how does it benefit you?
11. Were you taken aback by the appearance of the Connelly siblings’ father? Did his role and interactions with Tara meet your expectations? Would you have responded similarly if you were in Tara’s position?
12. If you’ve read the author’s previous work, “We are the Brennans,” draw comparisons between these two Irish-American families residing in Westchester, New York. (Did you spot any references to ” We are the Brennans ” within this book?)
13. The author drops hints early on that Tara is withholding more than just Roland’s whereabouts from the police. Were you able to anticipate her secret, or were you surprised when it came to light?
14. Reflect on the character to whom you felt the strongest connection. What drew you to them, and what do you envision for their futures?
15. Imagine casting choices for a film adaptation of “The Connellys of County Down.”
16. The author, Tracey Lange, is praised for creating well-formed characters with diverse qualities. Which character’s journey resonated with you the most, and why?
17. What do you think about the narration by Barrie Kreinik in the audiobook version of the book? How do you think the narrator’s skills contributed to your experience of the story? Would you prefer reading the book or listening to it? Why?
18. Without revealing any spoilers, what are your thoughts on an ending that leaves room for interpretation? Did you find it satisfying, or would you have preferred more closure?
Selected Reviews
“In Lange’s accomplished debut… she keeps all of the Brennans sizzling with humanity while they grapple with familial loyalty. Fans of intense family dramas are in for a treat.” ―Publishers Weekly
“A compassionate look at family dynamics and a reminder that it’s never too late to heal.” ―Kirkus
“When we leave the Brennans, they are perhaps more flawed than they were at the start. But that, to my mind, is what makes them feel human, and what makes the book feel real……[A] confident, polished debut novel…” ―The New York Times
Additional Recommendations
Hope you enjoyed the book club discussion questions and reading guide for The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange!
Here are some more of my book club recommendations related to this book:
Someone Else’s Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews
From the award-winning author of The View from Stalin’s Head, a stunning novel about two sheltered Russian Jewish sisters, desperate to get to America to make a new life, who find themselves trapped in the sultry, hedonistic world of 1920s Havana.
Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and the young women are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba, convinced they will find a way to overcome this setback.
At first, life in big-city Prohibition-era Havana is overwhelming, like nothing Pearl and Frieda have ever experienced—or could have ever imagined in the rural shtetl where they grew up. As the sisters begin to adjust, their plans for going to America together become complicated.
Frieda falls for the not-so-dreamy man of her dreams while Pearl’s life opens up unexpectedly, offering her a taste of freedom and heady romance, and an opportunity to build a future on her own terms. Though to do so, she must confront her past and the shame she has long carried.
A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women displaced from their home who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake.
As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart.
As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.
A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.
But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.
Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?
Printable PDF
Feel free to distribute these discussion questions to your book club members before your meeting. Simply click the link below to download and print the PDF file.
Happy reading! ❤️