I am indebted to Steve Brown, who took time from his busy schedule to explain everything I needed to know about the Railroad Commission and Texas Politics.
Moriah Cleveland is an amazing writer-friend, and I’m so appreciative to her for always being my first reader and offering edits and e-mails to help me along the way.
No place feels like home until you find true girlfriends. Thank you to all of the Muttons—Amy Cogan, Chrissie Graham, Emily Hines, Megan Hughes, Theresa Lepow, Stephanie Schott, and (DC transplant) Mary Colleen Bragiel for helping to change my mind about this place. In the DC game of highs and lows, the time I got to spend with all of you was my high. My low is obviously that everyone keeps moving away. Come back, please!
I wrote much of this book while thinking of Brandon Lepow, which is part of the reason that Jimmy shares Brandon’s hometown, job at Facebook, love of colorful socks, and incredible charm. If I ever really tried to model a character after Brandon, no one would believe that one person could be so kind, generous, and funny. DC was lucky to have you and better because you were here. You are so missed, my friend.
It is a privilege to work with the talented and lovely team at Knopf and Vintage. Many thanks to Sonny Mehta, Paul Bogaards, Ruth Liebman, Nicholas Latimer, Chris Gillespie, Julie Kurland, Emma Dries, Helen Tobin, Brittany Morrongiello, Danielle Plafsky, Andrea Robinson, and Alex Houston. I’m especially grateful to Kelly Blair, who worked tirelessly to design this perfect and beautiful cover.
Wrigley Close-Hartz is the best office mate I could ask for and having him curled up under my desk while I write makes my days so much better.
Finally, a huge thank-you to Tim Hartz, who always offers love, support, and calming words when I need them the most. I couldn’t have written this book without you answering every question that I shouted downstairs, responding to midday texts about my characters, offering ideas and anecdotes, and reading passages for immediate feedback. I’m so happy that you’re my husband.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Close is the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses and The Smart One. Born and raised on the North Shore of Chicago, she is a graduate of Boston College and received her MFA in fiction writing from The New School in 2005. She worked in New York in magazines for many years. She now lives in Washington, DC, and teaches creative writing at George Washington University.
An Alfred A. Knopf Reading Guide
The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close
The questions, discussion topics, and reading list that follow are intended to enhance your reading group’s discussion of The Hopefuls, the timely and entertaining new novel by Jennifer Close, best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses.
Discussion Questions
1. Who are the “hopefuls” in the title?
2. In the Washington, DC, of the novel, most people are from elsewhere—away from home and family. How does this contribute to the intensity of their relationships?
3. On this page, Matt tries to cheer up Beth about their move to DC: “ ‘We’re here,’ he said. ‘And home is wherever we’re together.’ ” Beth doesn’t quite buy it. Why not?
4. As a spouse who’s not particularly interested in politics, Beth feels like an outsider. What should she have done to find her own tribe—or does that seem impossible in the atmosphere the novel describes?
5. Personal identity is one of the themes running through the novel. In DC, Beth struggles to find her sense of self. She considers it a matter of circumstance, but things are no better in Texas. Has she brought this about somehow?
6. The theme of friendship also weaves through the story. Is Beth a good friend? Who is a better friend to her, Ash or Colleen?
7. On this page, Beth says, “Matt’s jealousy no longer surprised me. I’d figured out that DC was a city that was crammed full of jealousy, that there was, in fact, a hierarchy of jealousy among the people we spent time with.” Why does she believe DC to be more rife with jealousy than anywhere else? Do the people in Texas prove to be less inclined toward the sentiment?
8. When Beth learns that both Ash and Colleen are pregnant, she doesn’t react well. Why not? How does her ambivalence about motherhood factor into this?
9. “[The Dillons] were just so lucky, so charmed. Everything was working out for them, life was unfolding exactly as it should—and most of the time, it seemed like it was all happening without any effort on their part.” (this page) Why does Beth feel this way? In what ways is she right, and how is she wrong?
10. Matt is better informed and more insightful than Jimmy, yet Jimmy’s charisma makes him a better politician. What point is the author making about this?
11. When Beth meets The Dozens, how does it change her perception of Ash?