Killing Monica (28 page)

1. Discuss the following quotes the characters make about men, women, and relationships:
   “You see?
   There’s
   the problem,” Portia said triumphantly. “You’re not vulnerable. With men, you need to show your vulnerable side. That’s why no one’s ever asked you to get married. When you don’t show vulnerability, it makes men think you don’t need them.”
   “Every woman needs love,” insisted Suzette.
   Society celebrated the self-made man, but the concept of the self-made woman hardly even existed. Probably because what society insisted defined a woman were her relationships to other people.
   “Of course, it reminds me of how lucky I am to have my career. Because I think of my career as a relationship I have with myself.”
    
   
2. Do you agree with Pandy’s decision to forgive SondraBeth for having sex with “her guy”? What is Bushnell trying to say about how we make assumptions about the reasons behind other women’s behaviors based on stereotypes of female behavior?
   
3. Pandy never asks Jonny for a prenup, and yet she knows she should have. Nevertheless, Pandy tries to pretend that everything is going to mysteriously be okay anyway. What is Bushnell trying to say about how romance can cloud our better judgment?
   
4. Peter Pepper states, “Your sister was funny. And…pretty…In any case, that was her problem. You can’t be funny
   and
   pretty in Hollywood. Because if you’re going to be funny, you have to be able to risk looking stupid. Or even
   ugly
   . But then, you’re no longer pretty.” Discuss this quote in respect to how Hollywood portrays women and humor.
   
5. Bushnell makes a point about how Henry reminds Jonny of a character in a black-and-white movie, and indeed, at the end of the book, we discover that those were the only movies Hellenor/Henry had grown up on. Discuss what Bushnell is saying about how we use images in a particular environment to construct our own identities.
   
6. What do you think about Bushnell’s “happy ending” not being about a man? What other books, plays, or movies can you think of in which the woman has a happy ending that doesn’t involve a man?
   
7. Discuss why we still cling to the idea of a happy ending with a man given the real world that we live in, where at least half of marriages don’t work out and over fifty percent of the female population is single.
   
8. Several moments with SondraBeth are associated with
   The Wizard of Oz
   —for instance, at the very beginning of the book, SondraBeth says, “We’re not in
   Montana
   anymore.” Hellenor is compared to Peter Pan, and at one point, Henry refers to Monica as Tinker Bell. How does Bushnell use iconic characters from other works in her own narrative, and how do these references contribute to our understanding of the characters?
   

“A fable of glitter and greed.”

—
O, The Oprah Magazine

“All things an escapist read should be: quick and wicked and wry…Great, guiltless fun.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“A fun romp.”

—
Elle
magazine

“Bushnell proves she’s still the philosopher-queen of a social scene.”

—
New York Times Book Review

“[Bushnell] takes readers inside Manhattan society with her trademark verve, sass, wit, and sex.”

—
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Sharp and sweet.”

—
New York
magazine

“Bold and candid, with a philosophical bent,
Lipstick Jungle
just might be Bushnell’s best book yet.”

—
Book Page

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