The Garden Angel A Novel [Paperback]

In Sans Souci, South Carolina, talk is cheap, real estate even more so. No one knows this better than Cutter Johanson, a gruff tomboy who waits tables, writes obits, and makes every effort, however comical and in the face of her mercenary relatives, to avert the sale of the dilapidated ancestral home. And despite her plucky resolve, all appears to be lost--until she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Elizabeth, a shy and fragile academic who puts both their fates on a permanent mend.

1. In the course of the novel, Cutter and Elizabeth form a strong friendship. What is it that draws them together? In what ways does their friendship change each of their lives? In desperate circumstances, have you ever relied on friends instead of family?
2. Cutter's home has a strong presence in the novel, as if it were a character. What is the significance of setting in the novel--Cutter's ancestral home and neighborhood, the city-swallowed town of Sans Souci, Elizabeth's suburban ranch? Identify how the theme of home as both a sanctuary and a trap weaves through the novel.
3. How would you characterize Elizabeth and Daniel's marriage? What kind of husband is Daniel? Did you ever sympathize with him? Did you agree with Elizabeth's decision regarding her marriage at the end of the novel?
4. How do you feel the author portrayed the issue of agoraphobia? Were Elizabeth's near-debilitating panic attacks believable? Have you, or someone you love, ever suffered from panic attacks?
5. Discuss the betrayals that occur between Daniel and Elizabeth, Cutter and Ginnie, and Elizabeth and Cutter. Were any of the disloyalties--between husband and wife, siblings, and friends--more justified than others? By the end of the novel, which of the rifts between the characters have healed?
6. Do you recognize and relate to the family squabble over inheritance that occurs between siblings? Do you think Ginnie and Barry's insistence that the house be sold a sign of their greedinl3: