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A Novel
By Eugena Pilek

Reading Group Guide

    Reading Group Guide -- Eugena Pilek's Cooperstown
    6) On page 9 Pilek tells us that "In Frank's mind, they were their own inaugural club, the real McCoys, the last of the Mohicans...ever waging an eternal war against the Coopers, determined to one day run the town". Judging how things progressed in the novel would you say they were successful at this? Knowing what was in the document would you say the actions they took in order to keep the contents secret benefited the town or caused more harm than the actual revelation would have?
    7) How would you characterize Dusty's self-image? What events and circumstances in her life have contributed to her sense of self awareness most particularly with her looks?
    8) How do you interpret the novel's ending? Where there are any passages throughout the novel that may have hinted towards what the document consisted of? How destructive could this document have been for Cooperstown? Where the results of the content what you expected?
    9) If you were in Manny's situation having gone though all he went through and knowing the secret he knew do you believe your reaction would've been similar? Do you think his departure from baseball was logical?
    10) Discuss Daulton's inability to publish what was revealed in the document. If placed in a similar situation would you have published it?
    11) What do you make of Manny giving the document to Chylak? Why do you believe he preferred to preserve it by passing it along to the town's psychiatrist instead of burning it that night with Daulton?
    12) Would you say the story's ending was a happy one? Discuss the resolutions that were made.

About the Author

Eugena Pilek
