Once Upon a Day: A Novel by Lisa Tucker Reading Guide-Book Club Discussion Questions-Reviews and Ratings from Book Clubs-BookMovement

Introduction

From Lisa Tucker, the critically acclaimed author of The Song Reader, comes a wise, humorous, and deeply compassionate novel about the risks and rewards of loving when a single day can change our lives.

Nineteen years ago, a famous man disappeared from Los Angeles, taking his two children, Dorothea and Jimmy, to a rocky, desolate corner of New Mexico where he raised them in complete isolation in a utopian "Sanctuary." The children grew up with books and encyclopedias, records and a grand piano, but no television, computer, radio, or even a newspaper. Now Dorothea, at twenty-three, is leaving this place in search of her missing brother -- and venturing into the wide world for the first time.

Dorothea's search will turn into an odyssey of discovery, leading to the truth of her family's past and the terrifying day that changed her father forever. But Dorothea's journey will also introduce her to an unusual cast of characters, including a homeless girl from Missouri who becomes a jazz singer and a social worker whose mistake in judgment changes her best friend's life. And she will meet Stephen, a doctor turned cabdriver who, after suffering his own losses, has lost his ability to believe in a meaningful world. Together, they have a chance to make a discovery of a different kind: that though a heart can be broken by the tragic events of a day, a day can also bring a new chance at love and a deeper understanding of life's infinite possibilities.

Beautifully written, with a spellbinding story, Once Upon a Day is "a lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

Chapter One

Stephen Spaulding was very happy, and you can't say that about most people. He hadn't sought happiness, but he recognized it. This was his gift: to know what he had.

When it was gone, of course he knew that too. He changed from a man who could smile at strangers first thing in the morning to a man who wouldn't look anybody in the eye. He'd lost his family in a freak accident, and the rest he let go of as easily as opening his hand and releasing a string of balloons. Good-bye to the family practice he had just started with two friends from his residency. Good-bye to the Victorian house he and Ellen had gone deeply into debt to buy when she got pregnant during his internship. Good-bye to the cradle and the tricycle and the pink and purple birthday party dress Lizzie never had a chance to wear.

More than a year later, he still hadn't adjusted to the way time itself had been altered. Before there was never enough time, and the list of things he and Ellen had not gotten around to doing was one of many things that still tortured him. The untaken trip to Paris bothered him less than the movies they'd talked about renting. Why hadn't they watched them? Ellen's entire list could be watched in a weekend. He knew this because he had done it, several times. He watched the movies his wife had wanted him to, and thought about what she would say if she were there. This was back in the early months, when he was trying to give her gifts, as though she could come back if only he worked harder to make her want this life.

After the accident, there was too much time. Each day stretched before him like a flat Kansas highway, the only landmarks the meals he forced himself to choke down, the few chores he performed, and the occasional walks he took, rarely noticing anything or anyone on his path. He finally bought the old green and white Checker cab not because he needed the income -- his compensation from the city would support him forever, especially since he had no desires, nothing he wanted now -- but because he could drive it as little or as much as he liked, sixteen hours a day, more if his insomnia was bad.

He wouldn't have sued, but the city gave him an enormous sum anyway. The newspaper headline called it a "regrettable tragedy." It was a Sunday in late July; the police were chasing a teenager who had stolen a rusted-out '84 Toyota from a neighbor's driveway. The car was worth less than five hundred dollars, but the patrol car that slammed into his family at the intersection had been going over eighty miles an hour. He was driving; Lizzie was in her booster seat in the back, behind Ellen. The teenage thief turned himself in when he heard what had happened. The policeman who was driving took early retirement.

And Stephen, the barely thirty-year-old family practice doc, became a cabbie. What difference did it make? His knowledge of how to heal bodies had done nothing for him anyway. His wife and four-year-old daughter had still died right in front of his eyes.

Now he was learning the quickest way to the airport from any street in St. Louis. How to slide around a bus, and when to change lanes so his customer would feel they were making progress. What times the restaurants and bars closed, and which of his regulars would be likely to drink one too many and need a ride on a Saturday night.

People often mentioned what a safe driver he was. The safest cab driver they'd ever ridden with. He nodded, but he didn't respond. He never drove without the radio playing. Talk show, pop music, news channel, it didn't matter. The radio was his excuse not to talk.

The only time he would answer was when a customer asked about the amusement park tickets. They didn't ask often, even though he'd had the tickets laminated and kept them displayed above the visor, right next to his license. Stephen wasn't surprised. He knew most people aren't interested in their cab drivers.

He wasn't surprised; still, he longed for the question. He longed for another opportunity to tell the whole story of that perfect July day at the amusement park: riding the water slides and the Ferris wheel and the child's roller coaster; eating hot dogs and ice cream -- mint chocolate chip, Ellen's favorite; trying to win a giant stuffed panda bear, and when he couldn't make the ring toss (a setup, he was sure), buying the bear for his daughter anyway.

Every time he told the story, he added a few more details. As the months went by, the story often filled the entire drive; sometimes he would still be talking while his customer was trying to hand him money and get away.

He knew he was going too far, but he couldn't help himself. Back at his apartment whenever he tried to think of that day he drew a blank. It was only in the cab, talking to strangers, that he seemed to be able to bring it all to life: the feel of the sun on the back of his hands and the bright drips of green falling off their cones onto the hot pavement and how awkward and adorable Lizzie looked that night, lugging the giant panda to their car.

He didn't realize how he'd begun to live for these discussions until a rainy morning in April, when they suddenly came to an end.

He'd picked up a girl at the bus station downtown. One of the weirdos, though this one wasn't pierced or tattooed or obviously strung out, but even more bizarre, naturally pale as a made-up Goth, but dressed like a throwback to the fifties: long flared black skirt, fluffy pink sweater, even the white ankle socks and saddle oxford shoes. Her hair was in a thick braid, twisted like some kind of tight crown on top of her head, and she was sitting up so straight she looked uncomfortable, eyes unblinking, small white hands folded carefully in her lap. Stephen had already put her out of his mind when she mentioned the tickets about ten minutes into the ride. But before he could tell her about the slides or the food or even the perfect weather that day, she noticed what no one else had: that the tickets weren't stubs.

"What happened?" she said. "Why didn't you ever use those?"

He flushed with a confusion that quickly turned to anger. It had taken him nearly a year to perfect the story of the amusement park -- for chrissakes, couldn't he have even this? He wasn't asking for all the days and hours and minutes he would have had with Ellen and Lizzie, he was just asking for one more day.

Stephen had been taking his family to the park when their car was broadsided. Lizzie had wanted to go all summer, and that day they had the tickets: they were really, finally going. All he had done in his story was change "were going" to "had gone." A mere verb shift, and yet it changed everything.

And now this strange girl in his cab was forcing him to change it back.

Her voice was entirely innocent. She had no idea what she'd taken from him. But then again, he had no idea what she was about to give.

Discussion Questions

From the Publisher:

1. Charles Keenan is described differently by every character in the book: Lucy says he's a "good person," Janice calls him "controlling," Jimmy pegs him as a "liar," and in Dorothea's eyes he can do no wrong. What do you think of Charles? Is he a sympathetic character?

2. What is the "angel moon" and how does it relate to Dorothea's idea that "life is about what you believe as much as what seems to be reality"? At which points in the book are there disparities between an imagined world and the cold hard facts?

3. In all of their joint film projects, Charles casts Lucy in saintly roles such as Joan of Arc and Helena Lott. He makes the case in one interview that Lucy is a good match because, like the character, "Lucy is such a principled person." Do you agree with this sentiment? In what ways do Charles' filmmaking choices reflect his views on women?

4. Dorothea's trip to St. Louis affords her the opportunity to encounter many things for the first time, most of which she approaches with a childlike wonder and fascination. Is this innocence or ignorance, and what do you make of it? What do you perceive as the author's attitude toward pop culture?

5. Discuss your thoughts about Dorothea's relationship with the older and world-weary Stephen. In what ways does it mirror young Lucy's relationship to Charles? In what ways is it different? Discuss Lucy and Charles's marriage. When did it start to deteriorate and why? What could they have done -- if anything? What do you make of Lucy's second marriage?

6. Why do you think Dorothea is so devoted to her father, even after she finds out the truth about the past? How is this similar to or different from Lucy's devotion to Charles?

7. Following the loss of his wife and child, we learn that for Stephen Spaulding, "it was only in his cab, talking to strangers, that he seemed to be able to bring it all to life." Later, Dorothea unveils her story to Stephen, Stephen reveals his secret to Charles, and eventually Charles to Stephen, despite knowing very little about each other. Do you think this compulsion to confess to strangers is a realistic phenomenon? Why is there such comfort in anonymous disclosure?

8. As the title Once Upon a Day suggests, there are several "days" in this story - some tragic, some "charming" as Dorothea would say - that serve as crucial turning points in the lives of the characters. Identify 4-5 of these days and discuss their significance. Why is Once Upon a Day a more appropriate title than Once Upon a Time? Do you agree that the story hinges on these pivotal days or do you think that what occurs in between these days is more interesting?

9. Throughout the entire book, Jimmy strays from Charles, questioning everything from his father's identity, to his past, to Charles' motivations for keeping the children sequestered at the Sanctuary. Why, then, when he discovers Charles' secret shrine to Lucy and declares him "crazy" does Jimmy say he's "never felt closer to him"? Are there any other moments of craziness or insanity in the book? If so, what do you think drives the characters to such extremes?

10. Read aloud the epigram from Don Quixote. Which character can you best imagine speaking these words? Does the same sort of nostalgia for a better time run throughout the book as well? What does the passage say about fate and human existence? Do these lines strike you differently now that you've read the book than when you first encountered them?

Weblinks

»	Publisher's Book Info
»	Reviews
»	Book Video
»	Author Q&A
»	Author Lisa Tucker's web site
»	Author Bio
»	Book Tour

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

A note from Lisa Tucker to BookMovement members:

The idea for Once Upon a Day came from something that happened to me when I was in New York to tape the CBS Early Show. I was on the way back to my hotel when the cab driver and I struck up a conversation. He was curious why I’d been at CBS, and I told him about my first novel, The Song Reader, which had just been released. He also told me about himself: that he was from Romania and had immigrated a decade before, that he loved New York, that he had two children, a wife, and a house in Queens. But then his voice became quiet as he told me that he was having some problems since 9/11. The World Trade Center attack had changed him, he said, and he didn’t know what to do or how to change back. Then he looked in the rearview mirror and said flatly, “I’ve lost my hope.”

I didn’t have a chance to say anything to him before we arrived at my hotel, where he picked up another fare and disappeared down the block. But I kept thinking about this man, wondering what I could have done. Wishing there was something I could have said. Wondering if there were any words powerful enough to help a person who’d lost his hope.

All of this was still haunting me as I sat down and started writing about Stephen Spaulding, the character who opens my novel. Like his real counterpart, Stephen is a cab driver who has been changed by the events of a single day. In Stephen’s case though, it’s a car accident that killed his wife and young daughter and made him give up his career as a doctor. And Stephen has no intention of telling anyone about his loss, even if they could help. But then Dorothea O’Brien climbs into his cab, and meeting her changes his life profoundly.

My characters always lead me to places I could never have predicted—this is one of the things I love about writing. What began as my cab driver novel turned out to be so much bigger than anything I’d ever written, with a larger cast of characters, three locations (St. Louis, New Mexico, Los Angeles), and two distinct time-periods: the late seventies and the present. Of course the central themes of my first two books, the things I always care about, found their way into this one, too: the struggle to come to terms with the past and find forgiveness; the loneliness of people who have grownup in poverty and are trying to make it out; the complex relationships within a family, especially a troubled one; the importance of music and the inextricable connection between music and memory.

The title comes from a passage in Don Quixote: “Dame Fortune once upon a day/ To me was bountiful and kind/ But all things change; she changed her mind/ And what she gave she took away.” One of the themes of the novel is the role of chance, coincidence and fate in our lives, especially the way everything can change so suddenly: our hearts can be broken by the events of a single day, yet a day can also bring a new chance at love and redemption. Nearly all of us have experienced the truth of this; most of us can narrate our personal histories as a series of important days: births and marriages and deaths but also first dates and a winter afternoon holding our baby that was just like every other, except that one is burned into our memory.

Of course the title Once Upon a Day also has a fairy tale quality, and this, too, relates to the novel’s meaning. One of the main characters has created an isolated world for his family: a “utopia” that is protected from danger, but also protected from the messy struggles and joys of ordinary life. And all of the characters will be forced to deal with the limitations of the dreams/fairy tales they thought they were living. They’ll lose their innocence, but they’ll each find new reasons for hope.

Now that I’ve written this novel, I’ve had dozens and dozens of people tell me the story of their own most important day. Some of the days are happy; many of them are heartbreaking, but what they all have common is the people who lived through them feel that they have been forever changed. I have days like that myself, of course. I know the day I met the cab driver will always be one of them.

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 1 of 1 members.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:

"Pleasantly surprised!"by Robin L. (see profile) 03/25/14

I really didn't think I would like this book. The author was so talented with her writing that you couldn't help but feel bad for the bad guy in this book. Our book club loved it and we had a great discussion.... (read more)

Rate this book

Member Login

BKMT READING GUIDES