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Ira David Socol   The Drool Room      

Discussions...

(1) One reviewer says, "That this story unfolds in the town of Rob and Laura Petrie [television's The Dick Van Dyke Show], a modest bedroom community, places more onus on the breakdown of this life. This isn't the wretched slums of the inner city nor the dire simplicity of rural poverty. The suburbs should be a place of sheltered nurturing... there are parks, trees and beautiful schools. Socol treats the splendor of middle class life like drugs. Parks become secret hideouts to escape abuse." How does the settings of the narrator's childhood effect your understanding of the story?

(2) Twice in the second chapter, The Tower, the narrator demonstrates himself to be a dangerously violent child. What is the balance between sympathy for his struggles and the real needs of a school to create a safe place for students and teachers? What impact does this violence have on your feelings toward the narrator?

(3) At the end of the chapter, A Tour of My School including the Room that was Supposed to be the Book Room, the narrator says, "I stood there and considered the fact that at our very best we still do only what we can, given the circumstances." How does this character see his ability to alter his own environment? Does he ever see himself as successful?

(4) The narrator is intensely interested in the architecture and structure of his schools. Throughout the book he constantly pays attention to minute details of his environment. How does this help the reader understand way in which this character filters information? How does it fit with his description of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in A Tour of My School including the Room that was Supposed to be the Book Room?

(5) One early reviewer was fascinated by the dyslexic character's decision to describe the layout of his school with the shapes of letters. Why would the narrator choose to do this?

(6) In Hawkins Street Ends at the Water the narrator compares the way his wife and a fellow police officer understand or do not understand his world...

(7) How are swimming and water used as a metaphor? Why is the high school swimming championship brought together with the death in Hawkins Street Ends at the Water?

(8) The Speed of Christmas Light seems all about time and memory, but it might also focus on how the narrator understands family and how he tries to construct that. Is he realistic in his expectations? Or is there an impossible notion of "family" that he is devoted to?

(9) How does the basketball game in Rain differ from the game in Bad Game? Why does the author include these two visions of the same sport?

(10) A Descent into the Maelstrom is told almost exclusively through an interior monologue, the narrator talking to himself. How does this strengthen the readers sense of the character's mood at this point in the story?

(11) The way the night is lighted plays an important part in A Descent into the Maelstrom? Why do you think the author included these details?

(12) How does the shooting in A Descent into the Maelstrom compare to how police shootings are typically depicted on television, in films, or in fiction?

(13) What does the story Run add to your understanding of urban police work?

(14) In Centennial Park the narrator offers an alternative view of much of what he has described in the past - his high school friends and his father, among others. Is this just the perspective of age? How does this impact what you have previously read?

(15) Why does the author use Fifth Hour to end the book. Where does this leave your understanding of the character?

(16) Why do you think the book is titled "The Drool Room?" Having finished the book, how do you understand the title?

(17) Why doesn't the book unfold in chronological order? If these stories were arranged as they might appear on a timeline would it be a very different book? How?

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