Reader's Group Guide
**Saint Maybe, by Anne Tyler

ISBN 0-449-91160-8 w Fawcett Columbine/Ballentine Books w 337 pages w NY Times Bestseller

Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (NIV)

1. Discuss how gossip (misunderstanding what we see; thoughtlessly spoken words) played a role in the downfall of the Bedloe family. Do you think Danny's accident was Ian's fault?

2. Ian always seemed to be trying to define himself. Who am I? Am I a sinner, am I a saint? (Saint Maybe was a term Daphne coined as she yelled at Ian that she was not like him. p. 264) Discuss the significance of the title Saint Maybe as it applied to Ian's life and his attitude of self-loathing.

3. Although the Bedloes considered themselves to be Christian (they attended Dober Street Presbyterian p. 127), Ian felt that in terms of the sins he had committed, their brand of Christianity was not enough. How was the Church of the Second Chance different, and how did it offer Ian a 2nd chance? Discuss the Church in terms of both its spirituality and its legalisms. (Also, see p. 124 as one explanation for the religion of the Second Chance, citing I John 3:18 "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.") Do you think Anne Tyler portrayed religious fundamentalists in a true and/or positive light? (Also see Holy House of the Gospel on p. 186)

4. Life doesn't always seem fair, and Ian often did not want to carry the burden that he had put upon him. At times he even struggled with the idea that he was wasting his life. Finally, Rev. Emmett said to him, "This is your life. Live it." Do you think that was wise advice? (p. 213)

5. Ian had several spiritual struggles, and one of them was that he saw his burden of raising the children as being a punishment from God.  Rev. Emmett saw the children not as Ian's burden, but as his joy. He went on to explain to Ian that his burden was not in his waiting to be forgiven by God, but for himself to forgive his brother and sister-in-law. Why do you think Emmett said this to Ian? (p. 225)

6. How well do you think Anne Tyler captured family life in this novel? Explain. What effect did placing this story in the 1960's have on the plot (for example: family values, gender roles, etc.)?

7. Anne Tyler is known for creating peculiar yet lovable characters, and there are a host of them in this novel. Who was your favorite, and why? (Danny, Lucy, Thomas, Agatha, Daphne, Rev. Emmett, Mr. and Mrs. Bedloe, et al.) 

8. How do you think Ian's life would have turned out had he not had to raise three children? What sacrifices did he have to make? Did you see any alternative to Ian having to raise those kids on his own? Did you like the way Anne Tyler wrote the ending of this story? Why?

**This book contains some bad language (before Ian is converted by the Church of the Second Chance).