Introduction

Gloria Norris’s KooKooLand is a memoir written on the edge of a knife blade. Chilling, intensely moving, and darkly funny, it cuts to the heart and soul of a troubled American family, and announces the arrival of a startlingly original voice.

Gloria Norris grew up in the projects of Manchester, New Hampshire with her parents, her sister, Virginia, and her cat, Sylvester. A snapshot might show a happy, young family, but only a dummkopf would buy that. 

Nine-year-old Gloria is gutsy and wisecracking. Her father, Jimmy, all dazzle and danger, is often on the far side of the law and makes his own rules—which everyone else better follow. Gloria’s mom, Shirley, tries not to rock the boat, Virginia unwisely defies Jimmy, and Gloria fashions herself into his sidekick—the son he never had.

Jimmy takes Gloria everywhere. Hunting, to the racetrack, to slasher movies, and to his parents’ dingy bar—a hole in the wall with pickled eggs and pickled alkies. But it is at Hank Piasecny’s gun shop that Gloria meets the person who will change her life. While Hank and Jimmy trade good-humored insults, Gloria comes under the spell of Hank’s college-age daughter, Susan. Brilliant, pretty, kind, and ambitious, Susan is everything Gloria longs to  be—and can be, provided she dreams big and aces third grade like Susan tells her to. 

But, one night, a brutal act changes the course of all their lives. The story that unfolds is a profound portrait of how violence echoes through a family, and through a community. From the tragedy, Gloria finds a way to carve out a future on her own terms and ends up just where she wants to be. Gripping and unforgettable, KooKooLand is a triumph.

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Excerpt

“Get a loada that kid. She’s got a lotta frickin’ moxie for a nine-year-old."

The following is an excerpt for "KooKooLand" by Gloria Norris.

It was so hot you could die.

It was summer vacation 1963 and we were going to the drive-in to see a slice-and-dice called Blood Feast.

We lived in Manchester, the so-called Queen City of New Hampshire. The drive-in was in the boonies, in nowheresville. We had a drive ahead of us.

My father, Jimmy Norris, herded us into his Pontiac Chieftain. He wanted to get there early. Normally, Jimmy never got anywhere early. Waiting was for jerkos. He preferred to let the other guy wait for him. But tonight was special. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1) Why do you think the author continued to feel a hypnotic draw to Susan, long after Susan had stopped being the golden girl Gloria had imagined and built her up to be?

2) What role does hunting play in this memoir? Do you think Hank and Jimmy viewed life through a lens of hunter and prey?

3) Time is more compressed in the last third of the book. Why did the author choose to give more detail to her formative years?

4) How does the author's use of her parents' first names, rather than “Mom” and “Dad,” set the tone of the book? How would the memoir differ if "Mom" and "Dad" were used?

5) How would you describe the relationship between love and hate in this memoir? Is it unique to this story?

6) Why do you think the author chose to call the book KooKooLand? Does everyone grow up in their own version of KooKooLand?

7) What role does language play in this novel? As the memoir progresses, the author is consciously trying to shift her use of language. Why is this shift so important?

8) What are the differences in Virginia and Gloria's relationships/attitudes towards their parents and situation in general? How does Virginia's attitude change throughout the course of the memoir?

9) What is the relationship between good and evil in this memoir? Does one triumph? Which one?

10) How does mental illness affect this story?

11) Do you think the author loved her father? And did her father love her?

12) How big a role does alcoholism play in the book?

13) Do you think that much has changed for women like Doris and Shirley who are in marriages dominated by domestic violence? Do you think the authorities would respond differently to their situation today?

14) What do you think would have happened if Shirley left Jimmy?


15) Why is it important that this story was told?

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