What did you think of Kanigel's growing resentment to Maura? Were you surprised the couple lasted as long as they did? What kept them together?

Maura speaks at length about many subjects. "But during such rants, I sometimes felt as if I'd disappeared," Kanigel writes (p. 187), and he wonders if she even noticed he wasn't paying attention.

What did you think of his growing resentment? Were you surprised the couple lasted as long as they did? What kept them together, in your opinion?

Are you surprised that they still stay in touch?

As I said previously, he was looking to her for ideas on how to live life more fully - when she failed at that, he was at a loss.

I think Kanigel’s growing resentment of Maura was predictable. She was focused and he wasn’t. He depended on her to broaden his horizons, and was extremely supportive of her, but she didn’t seem to really appreciate him. She didn’t appear excited about his potential as a writer. I am surprised they lasted as long as they did, but to some extent they were both fulfilling each other’s superficial needs. There were lots of highs in their relationship so I’m not surprised they stayed in touch.

I really didn't like Maura. I thought she was so self-absorbed so wasn't surprised by Kanigel's resentments. As some previously observed by Joyce, Kanigel wasn't "focused;" he was looking for direction and she seemed to give it to him. I think Maura did push some buttons in Kanigel's life that caused him to grow and emerge into a more fully developed self. They just weren't a good fit.

I was very surprised that they stayed in touch! Given the fact that she seemed to lose interest in him or realized that they were not meant to be, I wondered why he would want to stay in touch. Old habits and old loves die hard. Then again it appears he was married and divorced and remarried, so maybe he did not really know what he was looking for.

I think the relationship with Maura was similar to his relationship with his parents. The way their thinking, influence and direction impacted him as a child which doesn't always play out the same way in an adult relationship.