1. What will become of Hud and Tuesday's relationship, following their adventure to South Dakota?

2. Discuss the theme of fight/flight throughout Hud and Tuesday's relationship, both in their direct interactions with each other, and their interactions through their children.

3. How is Hud's relationship to music, and the writing of songs, different from that of Gatling's?

4. How does church and religion inform the characters' lives? In what do the characters have the greatest faith?

5. What affect do the movies have on the characters' sense of romance? How do movies affect their senses of themselves?

6. What role does Halloween play in this novel and why do you think the author featured this holiday rather than another?

7. How are children both treasured and protected, or not, in this novel?

8. The book begins with Hud's ruminations about how society comes together over tragedy, grief, and loss. Is this book a tragedy, a comedy, or both?

9. How did Hud's and Tuesday's marrying young affect their lives and inform their regrets? What is their sense of family and sense of community, and how does this play out both in the family break up and in their hopes for reuniting?

10. Why do you think the author chose such distinctive names for his characters? How do the names develop the characters for readers?

11. How do Hud's and Tuesday's youthful expectations for moving beyond the limitations of their town color their sense of the future, their attitudes about their marriage, and their relationships with their children?

12. How much of their nostalgia for a better time is genuine and how does it affect their dreams for a future?

13. What role does music play in this novel?

14. Is this a love story? If so, whose?