Book Club Night Kit

Life Out of Order

Audrey Niffenegger

Cozy night

Alba DeTamble slips through time without warning, carrying her violin and a stubborn hope, in a sequel that returns to the warm, aching world of The Time Traveler's Wife. It is a book about being loved across gaps you cannot control, which makes for a tender, talky night.

Come Lose Track of Time With Us

We are reading Audrey Niffenegger's Life Out of Order, and you should come sit on the good couch. There will be deep dish, warm cider, a crumble, and no one keeping score about how much you finished.

Reading level: Moderate Pages: 560

Best for: A club that likes to sink into a couch, read slowly, and talk about how a book made them feel rather than dissect it

Discussion

Warm-up

1.If you suddenly landed in another decade with nothing but one small object to steady you, the way Alba has her violin, what would you want in your hands?
2.Where did you do most of your reading of this one, and did the book start to feel like a certain time of day or a certain weather to you?

Digging in

1.Alba is anchored by a tight circle of artists and activists. Who are the people who have anchored you through a stretch when your own life felt out of order?
2.The violin is Alba's constant companion. Was there a passage about music in this book that you felt in your body rather than just read, and what did it stir up?
3.Places like the Yellow House and the Museum of Lost Souls feel like refuges in the book. What is the real place you go to when you need to be gathered back together, and does it have that same quality?
4.Niffenegger writes about love that has to survive long absences. Did any moment here remind you of someone you only get in pieces, a long-distance friend, a parent, a person you have lost touch with?

Going deep

1.Alba meets another traveler who already knows more than she does about where things are headed. Setting aside what actually happens, how did the idea of someone holding knowledge about your life sit with you emotionally, comforting, suffocating, or something harder to name?
2.By the last stretch of the book, what feeling were you carrying, and was it the feeling you expected when you started? Say it without naming what happens, just the weather it left in you.

On the table & to sip

To eat

Chicago-style deep dish or a pan pizza cut small

The book is rooted in Chicago, and a bubbling pan in the middle of the table is the most low-effort way to make a room feel fed and looked after.

A pot of buttery mashed potatoes with toppings set out in bowls

A nurturing, grandmotherly dish that suits a story about being anchored, and guests can build their own bowl while they talk.

Warm apple or pear crumble with whipped cream

Old-fashioned in the best way, it tastes like a kitchen in any decade, which is exactly the trick Alba's life plays on her.

To sip

Slow-simmered spiced cider (non-alcoholic) (no alcohol)

Keep it warm on the stove all night so people can refill without asking. Cinnamon and orange peel make the whole house smell like a safe place.

Hot buttered rum

An unfashionable, deeply comforting old drink, the kind of thing that could have been poured in any of the decades Alba lands in.

A soft red wine served in whatever glasses you own

No decanting, no tasting notes, just something easy to hold during a long conversation on the couch.