Book Club Questions for Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

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Book club questions for Three Days in June by Anne Tyler takes a closer look at this quiet novel about marriages, and divorces. There will be spoilers so for more context about the book, check out my spoiler-free review first.

As I mentioned in my review, this is my first Anne Tyler book and I quite enjoyed it! I liked the snapshot of an American family with all its messiness and complications.

Let me know what you think about the book in the comments section below!

The Synopsis

Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit.

But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.

Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph, and gives us the perennially bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers.

Book Club Questions for Three Days in June

1. Why do you think the book started off with Gail losing her job? How did that set the tone for the rest of the novel?
2. Gail’s daughter is getting married but Gail wasn’t invited to any of the bride’s pre-wedding festivities. Why do you think Gail wasn’t invited?
3. What was your impression of the relationship between Gail and Debbie? Why is Gail emotionally closed off to Debbie?
4. Why do you feel Gail has a hard time relating with other people?
5. On the night before the wedding, Debbie rushes into Gail’s house and tells her parents that her fiancé cheated on her. How would have you reacted if you were Gail or Max?
6. Why didn’t Debbie call off the wedding after that? Do you think they’ll stay married?
7. This revelation forces Gail to relive the past when she had an affair while married to Max. Why did Gail have this affair? What she did feel was missing in her relationship with Max?
8. What was the importance of Gail finally accepting the cat that Max brought?
9. Despite everything they went through, Max still loves Gail. But she’s scared to give up her structured life for another chance with Max. But eventually she decides to give it another chance. Why do you think she changed her mind? Do you think her and Max will last?
10. What happens next for Gail and Max, but also Debbie?
11. Key themes of the novel are forgiveness and second chances, both with Max forgiving Gail but also Gail forgiving herself. Let’s discuss these themes and how it moves the characters forward.
12. Weddings bring about all kinds of emotions, and does sometimes causes one to reflect on the past. Why do you think weddings inspire these kinds of thoughts and emotions?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Three Days in June! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.

Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.

William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all. With the Padavanos, William experiences a newfound contentment; every moment in their house is filled with loving chaos.

But then darkness from William’s past surfaces, jeopardizing not only Julia’s carefully orchestrated plans for their future, but the sisters’ unshakeable devotion to one another. The result is a catastrophic family rift that changes their lives for generations. Will the loyalty that once rooted them be strong enough to draw them back together when it matters most?

Happy reading!