Early Morning RiserOne of our Star Books, Katherine Heiny's Early Morning Riser is a true tonic of a book we thought would be a great choice for book club discussions.

Tender and funny, with top-notch characterisation, it’s set in small-town America, but has resonance no matter where you live — the dynamics of the eccentric community are universal, as are the novel’s themes. Can a woman longing for love find it with a man who’s had more girlfriends than hot dinners? And what does it mean to love, and be loved? While these might be common topics for novelists, Katherine Heiny explores them in unique style. The novel is wry and warm-hearted, with a story world you feel at home in, and scenes that’ll move you to tears, before making you roar with laughter. At least, that’s what we reckon, and why we’re recommending Early Morning Riser to book clubs.

Warning: the discussion questions that follow contain a few spoilers, and you won’t want anything to spoil your enjoyment of this novel.

1. What’s the significance of the title? Do any alternatives come to mind?

2. What’s at the heart of the novel? What are its themes?

3. Eternal romantic or pragmatist? Discuss Jane’s character and how she changes through the course of the novel.

4. How did you respond to this early exchange about Duncan?

Freida sighed. “It’s just that he’s had an awful lot of girlfriends.”

“Isn’t that to be expected, though?” Jane asked. “He’s forty-two, after all.”

“I think he’s had enough girlfriends for, like, a lot of forty-two-year- olds,” Freida said. “Maybe even for a lot of eighty-four-year-olds.”

What kind of man is Duncan? Does he change throughout the novel? Given his relationship history, would you have dated him?

5. “One of the very nice things about Duncan was that women’s tears did not make him want to leave the room. (Although maybe that was because he’d caused so many women to cry.)” Why does Jane think being able to cope with women’s tears is one of Duncan’s qualities?

6. “Of course, that was the bad thing about the thrift store. You knew everything was there for a reason… You brought other people’s things home— soup tureens, suitcases, husbands—and tried to love them as best you could, but it didn’t always work.” What’s the significance of this statement?

7. “Let Aggie have her moment with Duncan, let Aggie have her memories, let Aggie have her toaster oven fixed. Who was Duncan going home with?  Jane — that’s who”. What did you think of the dynamic between Duncan and his ex-wife, Aggie? Would you have been as accepting as Jane? Would you have let Aggie and Gary move in? 

8. Compare and contrast the novel’s female and male characters.

9. Were you surprised when Jane decided to stop seeing Duncan? Did you feel hopeful about her marriage to Luke? Did you expect the reunion with Duncan?

10. “It was Jane’s fault that Jimmy no longer had his mother. It was all Jane’s fault—can’t you see that?” Do you agree? Why did Jane take care of Jimmy? Why did he become, in Jane’s words, “my Jimmy”? 

11. “You needed romantic love to be happy—it was right up there with garlic bread.” Do you agree with this statement?

12. “Every time you fell in love and it didn’t work out, it scraped out a little piece of you, like scooping out a piece of cantaloupe with a melon baller, and there were only so many times that could happen before the scoop marks started to show”. Do you agree with Jane on this?

13. Did the author plant any clues suggesting Willard might be a con man? Discuss how the author uses foreshadowing. 

14. What did you think of Jane’s mother? How might Jane’s upbringing have affected her later attitude to love and marriage? 

15. “It was actually so easy to make almost anyone happy. Why didn’t she do more of it?” Discuss - is it “so easy to make almost anyone happy”? If so, why don’t we “do more of it”?

16. How would you describe the author’s writing style? What did you think of the tone of the novel? Did it remind you of any other writers?

17. How important is humour to the style and the story? How does the author create humour?

18. How did you feel at the end of the novel? What will you most remember from this novel? Did any moments particularly resonate with you?

Head here for more books to consider discussing at your book group, and head here for more discussion questions covering some of our faves.