The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise

There are a number of shorter chapters featuring group chat texts between the Wilt siblings, discussing their mother’s disappearance and the FBI case, which function as a modern take on the epistolary form. What do these chapters do to break up the pacing of the narrative? How are they in conversation with the epistolary tradition?

Anger is an emotion felt deeply by both Tanner and Louise. How does anger inform Colleen Oakley’s representation of their friendship?

Motherhood is a less prominent, but nonetheless important, aspect of this novel. How are motherhood and the complexities of mother-daughter relationships explored through the three mothers: Louise, Candace, and Betsy?

The novel chapters move back and forth in time but remain somewhat linear in the threads of Tanner and Louise’s journey and the investigation into the disappearance days after. Discuss how the different timelines intersect and interact with each other. What is the effect of the novel’s temporal structure?

Age is a central theme in The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise. Explore age through the lens of a secondary character. How do they view age and the process of aging? What does Oakley convey through this character’s perspective?

Two injuries jumpstart the events and the friendship between Tanner and Louise: a broken hip and a broken leg. How does the motif of “fractures” function in the text?

Discuss the importance of the gun in Tanner’s character arc. How does it demonstrate her growth?

The male characters—Salvatore, August, Charlie, and Tanner’s dad and brother—take a backseat in the narrative. Compare The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise to another novel that keeps female characters at the forefront. What is the effect of that decision on the shaping of feminist themes in both novels?