Ambivalence, a Love Story Portrait of a Marriage [Paperback]

Ambivalence, a Love Storyis a deeply nuanced accounting in which two people come together to make a marriage work. Rarely has marriage and its compromises been so intimately portrayed, especially when tested by depression, unemployment, miscarriage and other realities of contemporary life. Whether inside the sterile out-placement offices for reengineered executives or traipsing through the suburban homes and competing lifestyles with perky realtors, Donatich muses on life's transitions with rare candor and insight.

Ambivalencetraces the inner life of a man coming into adulthood: on being first generation, on interfaith marriage, on playing the accordion and ultimately on the question of whether we are better off solitary or coupled. But at heart, it is a tender -- if circumspect -- love story. An astonishing middle-aged debut.

1. The author thinks a lot about the role and challenges of fatherhood today. How would you define fatherhood in the modern world, and do you think the author will make a good father?
2. What do you think of the author's portrayal of his own father? Is it fair? Why or why not?
3. How did the author's experience as a first generation Catholic boy influence his general outlook on life? How did that boy become the man we read today? Is he right to say that the first generation child's experience is a fundamentally American one?
4. What do you think of the author's treatment of his wife's miscarriages and the depression that followed them?
5. Is Love Story an accurate way to describe this book? Why or why not?
6. With which character do you empathize more: the author or his wife, B? How did you feel about the author's portrayal of his wife?
7. The author takes a very analytical and philosophical approach to becoming a father. Why do you think he finds this necessary and what does this say about him? How would a man preparing to become a father benefit from reading this book?
8. Discuss the affectlc-