Loose Lips

If you crossed Mitford, North Carolina, with Peyton Place, you might come up with Runnymede, Maryland, the most beguiling of Southern towns. In Loose Lips, Rita Mae Brown revisits Runnymede and the beloved characters introduced in Six of One and Bingo, serving up an exuberant portrayal of small-town sins and Southern mores, set against a backdrop of homefront life during World War II.

"I'm afraid life is passing me by," Louise told her sister.

"No, it's not," Juts said. "Life can't pass us by. We are life."

In the picturesque town of Runnymede, everyone knows everyone else's business, and the madcap antics of the battling Hunsenmeir sisters, Julia (Juts) and Louise, have kept the whole town agog ever since they were children. Now, in the fateful year of 1941, with America headed for war, the sisters are inching toward forty...and Juts is unwise enough to mention that unspeakable reality to her sister.

The result is a huge brawl that litters Cadwalder's soda fountain with four hundred dollars' worth of broken glass. To pay the debt, the sisters choose a surprisingly new direction. Suddenly they are joint owners of The Curl 'n' Twirl beauty salon, where discriminating ladies meet to be primped, permed, and pampered while dishing the town's latest dirt.

As Juts and Louise become Runnymede's most unlikely new career women, each faces her share of obstacles. Restless Juts can't shake her longing for a baby, while holier-than-thou Louise is fit to be tied over her teenage daughter's headlong rush toward scandal. As usual, the sisters rarely see eye to eye, and there are plenty of opinions to go around. Even the common bond of patriotic duty brings wildly unexpected results when the twosome joins the Civil Air Patrol, watching the night sky for German Stukas. But loose lips can sink even the closest relationships, and Juts and Louise are about to discover that some things are best left unsaid.

Spanning a decade in the lives of Louise, Juts, and their nearest and dearest, including the incomparable Celeste Chalfonte, Loose Lips is an unforgettable tale of love and loss and the way life can always throw you a curveball. By turns poignant and hilarious, it is deepened by Rita Mae Brown's unerring insight into the human heart.

From the Hardcover edition.

An ideal companion to Brown's comic classics, "Six of One" and "Bingo", this novel continues the story of sisters Julia and Louise Hunsenmeir, whose quarrels grow serious when Louise insists that Julia is not a "real mother" to her adopted daughter.

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of Rubyfruit Jungle, In Her Day, Six of One, Southern Discomfort, Sudden Death, Bingo, High Hearts, Venus Envy, Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War, Riding Shotgun, Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers' Manual, and an autobiography, Rita Will. She is the co-author, with Sneaky Pie Brown, of the Mrs. Murphy mystery series and Sneaky Pie's Cookbook for Mystery Lovers. Rita Mae Brown is also an Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet. She lives on a farm near Afton, Virginia.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

1. In the novels opening pages, Louise is stuck on the roof and asks Juts to bring her the ladder so she can get down. Juts insists she wont help unless Louise hands over her Easter hat. How would you describe the relationship between the Hunsenmeir sisters? How does their wisecracking reveal their affection for each other?

2. Chapter Two introduces the glamorous and quixotic Celeste: “Celeste Chalfonte, beautiful, willful, and in her middle sixties, unfolded the linen napkin on her lap. Across from her, Ramelle Chalfonte-her lover of thirty-nine years and the wife of Celestes brother, Curtis-did the same.” How does the world of Celeste and Ramelle compare to that of the other characters? What do all of Runnymedes residents have in common?

3. When Juts and Louise are arrested for a disturbance at Cadwalders drugstore, they must find a way to pay $398 in damages. What do their schemes, and the venture they eventually decide to undertake, say about their personalities?

4. Describe the relationship between Chessys mother and Juts. What does Mrs. Smith believe about the Hunsenmeirs? How does this increasingly become problematic for Chessy? What does he do about it?

5. What motivates Extra Billy Bitters to drive Mary toward Baltimore? What motivates Mary to fire a gun out the window? Are Louises beliefs about Billy and Mary grounded in any truth? How did you react when Billy crashes into the statue of Yankee general George Gordon Meade?

6. How do Buster and Yoyo, Jutss dog and cat, create a scene at Christ Lutheran Church? Describe how the personification of these animals contributes to the novels tone.

7. In a moment of anguish, Celeste wonders if she needs a fling: “One last quest. A quest is a pursuit, she thought, her hand reaching for the chrome door handle. What is to pursue, for what could be worth having that would flee you? Whatever is worth having is within, and if you find it, others will come to you. Pursuit is antithetical to gain.” Do you agree with Celestes thinking? How does Celestes introspection end with humor?

8. What happens when Chessy takes dance lessons from Trudy Archer? Was it inevitable for Juts to learn of Chessys infidelity?

9. Why does Hansford Hunsenmeir suddenly arrive in Runnymede? Why has he been gone all these years? How do Cora and the girls feel about his coming back? Have you ever had an estranged relative or friend suddenly re-enter your life? If so, how did it affect you?

10. How successful are the sisters with the Curl ‘n Twirl? Does it help that Paul labels a big blackboard “Gossip Central”? How do Juts and Louise encourage kids to come in for haircuts? How does Junior McGrail stay in business?

11. When Mary reveals that she is pregnant, why does Juts try to persuade Louise about what to do?

12. What is the reaction in Runnymede to news that America has entered the war? How did you react to the fire at Moe Nojos meat packing plant? What is the significance of the novels title in these chapters? Could this narrative have taken place in another time?

13. What does Juts long for? What does Josephine Smith think about having an adopted grandchild? What is the cause of Chessys mothers hostility? Have longstanding family feuds played a part in your own family history? If so, do both sides remember the original grievance?

14. What happens when Juts and Wheezy pull duty for the Civil Air Patrol? Do the sisters reveal their mistake? When Chester leaves Trudy, was his marriage to Juts likely to survive? How do Juts and Chessy manage to become parents?

15. Why does Cora pay Josephine a call? Why does Josephine tell her, “I died those long years ago”? Does Josephine ultimately recognize Nickel as a member of the family?

16. How does Juts feel about being a mother? Why do you think she lets Rillma visit Nickel? What does Louise have to say about it? What is significant about the way Nickel finds out that she was adopted?

17. How does Louise feel about Maizies marrying Vaughn? By the novels closing pages, how do Juts and Louise feel about marriage and children? Describe Jutss theory about the “memory bank.” Do you feel similarly about passing on knowledge and experiences to future generations? Do you have an image or metaphor you use in your family to describe leaving a legacy?

Straddling the Mason-Dixon line, charming Runnymede, Maryland, is home to a zany cast of characters whose ill-kept secrets and impetuous actions make life deliciously unpredictable. With America on the brink of entering World War II, emotions are running high. Whether theyre wreaking havoc at a local drugstore, mistaking Canadian geese for German bombers, or chasing down Louises love-struck teenage daughter, the Hunsenmeir sisters are larger-than-life, battling their way through the day-to-day trials of marriage, motherhood, and aging. Through the re-appearance and subsequent death of their long-estranged father, the opening of the Curl ‘n Twirl beauty salon, Jutss adoption of a baby girl, and Louises struggles with her own unmanageable progeny, the sisters love each other and their madcap existence with a fierceness suitable for the times. With her signature wit and warmth, Rita Mae Brown brings to life her characters often uproarious predicaments, leaving loyal readers wanting more.

The questions and discussion topics that follow are intended to enhance your reading of Rita Mae Browns Loose Lips. We hope they will enrich your experience of this warm and witty novel.