When reading a novel as minutely focused on the details as Larry's Party, it is most gratifying to pull back once in awhile and look at the overall scheme of things, realizing its design. Readers will certainly want to discuss such matters as the maze symbolism, Larry's role as a representative being, and Shields's facility with portraying the daily nonevents of human existence.

1. A neighbor in Chicago, also named Larry, says, "There's a sense in which, deep down, all the men in the world are named Larry." In what ways is Larry Weller an Everyman? Does he represent men only or people as a whole?

2. One topic of discussion at Larry's party in the last chapter is "what it's like being a man these days." How have men's roles changed in the last two decades? Are different things expected of them now?

3. At the beginning of...