28 Summers

What other messages about marriage, monogamy, and fidelity besides those discussed in this guide might be found in the text of 28 Summers? Use direct quotes from the text to support your answer.

Is it significant that Mallory’s aunt Greta and her friend Leland each have romantic relationships with men and women at various points in their lives? If so, what is the significance? If not, why not?

Research or watch the film Same Time, Next Year (1978). Why might Hilderbrand have chosen this film to play such a central role in the book? How would the book have been different if another film (i.e., the 1943 film Casablanca or the 1957 movie An Affair to Remember) had been used instead?

Research or view the play Same Time, Next Year by Bernard Slade, on which the film version is based. Compare and contrast both versions with Hilderbrand’s novel. What similarities are there, and what differences? Are any of the similarities or differences significant? 

What is the effect of the political/historical events portrayed in the book, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks and/or the Cavendish/Kavanaugh hearings? Are any of Hilderbrand’s own views expressed in the way these events are handled in the book, or does she limit the interpretation of them to those of her characters?

Various characters interact with various books throughout the story. Are there any patterns or meaning to the selections that are mentioned, the characters that read them, or characters’ reactions to literature? Is it significant that Ursula tends to read newspapers rather than novels?

Choose another of Hilderbrand’s books, perhaps one written earlier in her career, and compare and contrast the themes, characters, and/or plotlines with that of 28 Summers. What differences do you notice? What has remained constant throughout Hilderbrand’s career?

Compare and contrast Mallory’s relationship with her mother Kitty and her aunt Greta. Why might Mallory have enjoyed her relationship with Greta more than she did the one with Kitty? What did Mallory inherit from both of these women, either emotionally or physically? Which relationship was more central to forming Mallory’s sense of self?