Explain how and why Frank Wheeler and April Wheeler have such different reactions to the failure of The Enchanted Forest—the first production of the Laurel Players.

What is April Wheeler's real motive for promoting the idea of moving to France? Is she more idealistic (and less realistic) than her husband, Frank?

How do Frank Wheeler's feelings about Knox Business Machines mirror his feelings about his own father?

Why does Frank Wheeler become romantically involved with the secretary Maureen Grube? How does this affair affect his relationship with his family?

Why does April Wheeler have a one-night stand with Shep Campbell in the back seat of his car, and how does that affect her relationship with her family and with herself?

What is the author's intention in having John Givings—the psychiatrically disabled mathematician—thrust into the Wheelers' lives? Would the...