How Close We Come
by Susan S. Kelly

List Price: $12.99
Pages: 224
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0446675342
Publisher: Time Warner Books

For ten years, Pril Henderson and Ruth Campbell have been closer than sisters-inseparable companions and next-door neighbors whose children are also best friends. Then, without warning, Ruth leaves for vacation with her children and never returns. Nor does she call or write to explain. Pril is hurt, angry, and lonely.

Worse, Ruth's husband soon names Pril as his witness in custody proceedings, and she is faced with a terrible choice. Does she testify against her closest friend? Or does she side with this woman she loves but who has inexplicably shattered her family?

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1. Who is the needier woman in the novel, Ruth or Pril? Why? Is Ruth's departure an act of kindness or cruelty? Do you think it's true, as Pril says, that in marital arguments it's often not the topic of the fight but the way the battle is waged? Ruth is a hero to some women, a villian to others. Why? Is she sympathetic? That is, can the reader feel empathy with her, understand why she leaves?

2. What are the catalysts for Ruth's departure? Suppose you found yourself in a situation such as Pril, when she discovers that she's been basically tricked into accompanying Ruth to have her abortion. What would your reaction be?

3. What is it, indeed, that binds this particular friendship? What are other "binding" reasons behind female friendships?

4. Ruth and Pril share everything, from recipes to sex. Do men's relationships function along the same lines? How would your husband, or most men you know, react if they knew they were being discussed so intimately?

5. Some readers argue that Ruth is lesbian. What do you think?

6. The author wanted Ruth and Pril to feel shame at Roslyn's suicide. Why? Do you know a Roslyn? Is she happy?

7. Pril feels excluded from Ruth's feminist group, from her riding life. Finally, Ruth severs the relationship altogether. In what other ways do women betray each other?

8. Ruth struggles to "be" someone outside her marriage. If you're married, can you define who you are without using the word "married"? Do you think Ruth and Pril reunite? Under what circumstances? Whose "side" are you on? Why?

9. Susan Kelly likes to say that she writes about "necessary sadness." In fact, "a current of sadness" is a phrase she finds a place for in everything she writes. Did you notice it? What does she mean?

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