"In big times of change, normal is what is being changed." Do you think this is true? What "normal" changes over the course of the book? What "normal" has changed in your own lifetime?

Mrs. Delacourt tells Corky that "In big times of change, normal is what is being changed." Do you think this is true? What "normal" changes over the course of the book? What "normal" has changed in your own lifetime?

The "normal" which was changed in the book was segregation of whites and blacks as well as looking at blacks as second class citizens. It was the "this is how we've always done it" syndrome.

More "normal" things have changed in my lifetime than not. The definition of marriage, the definition of biological sex, global warming (I remember the fear of nuclear winter), certain countries as bad actors (China, Russia). Daily many of us experience new "normals" and the only thing to remember is that these will change too!

Change happens constantly. Technology is huge case in point.

When normal changes people begin to notice and either become fearful and want to step backwards to what they believe is normal or they embrace the change and look forward to a new normal. In the book the normal changes in many ways. One is the loss of comfort in ideas that were once held. There is also the loss of innocence for Corky and her brother. They witness and experience violence that changes theirs lives forever.

The book reflects on theme of times of change, however, especially in the town where the novel is centered the White and Black populations led separate lives though times were changing even in this community. the novel provides excellent insights into the emotions and thoughts of the towns people and their confusion over these changes plus other changes in society such as the role of women.

Yes, today's "normal" is certainly not the "normal" of the 1960s. I remember people of my grandparents' generation talking about how things were when they were young. I do believe that the definition of normal changes with time. This book brought this out for me so many times - not only with segregation, but with the limits for women and with so many aspects of daily life. I agree that technology is a great example of a new normal.

Just when we think what is normal is changing or has changed we discover that in some places in the United States things are changing but going backwards. For example, two of Ann Patchett's books have been banned in Orange County School System in Florida. The two books are the Patron saint of Liars and Bel Canto. Ann Patchett of all people and of all books!. It's appalling.

What even is normal and by whose definition? While progress has been made in some areas it is not black and white but grey. While I am appalled at segregation of blacks and whites in the time the book is written there is no new normal now. Hopefully it is an evolution,unfortunately a slow one.

WOW..good question! Is there a “normal” today? I don’t think so. Anything but normal.
The book represents the evolution of race during the sixties. Whether you agree or not what happened during that time frame was right or wrong, I’m not sure just how far we have come today.

Being born in the 50s a ton has changed. We have gone from party line phones to everyone having a cell phone on them at all times. We have gone from only dreaming of computers to buying our first computer that was definitely not portable to carrying our laptop everywhere we go. I was raised by a father who grew up without electricity or a bathroom. There is a woman still alive that graduated from the high school I graduated from and was the first Black woman to graduate from the college in my hometown. I can not imagine what it would be like to be her. Talk about the amount of change that she has seen in her life!

I believe that "NORMAL" is different for every person. Everyone looks out of different windows. So, even if you see something today that appears normal to you, you may see it differently tomorrow. What once was is now changed. Normal continues to change just like our lives.