Synopses & Reviews
When California-born war correspondent Saffron Roch discovers that shes pregnant (read: knocked-up, newly jobless, and single at thirty-eight), she decides to leave Sierra Leone and surgeon Oscar DeVries, the babys cheating father who, despite his huge ego and surprisingly small member, had captured her heart.
So Saffron turns in her backstage pass to the violent dissolution of third-world countries and returns home to Los Angeles, where she is about to inherit a beach property worth a fortune. There she throws herself into motherhood, joining a politically correct breast-feeding support group at the Pump Station. In full-blown culture shock, missing Africa, Saffron comes face to face with a group of unlikely women friends and a roomful of Scud nipples that, on looks alone, could bring any rogue nation to its knees.
Making It Up As I Go Along is a dazzling debut novel that questions the very meaning of motherhood, home, and family, while offering an unforgettable look at the camaraderie of women who, across borders and generations, teach Saffron a thing or two about what matters most in life.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
An honor graduate of the London School of Economics, Maria T. Lennon now finds herself living under a heap of Disney paraphernalia in a slightly disheveled tree house in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, with her husband, three children, a dog, three cats, and a caterpillar named Harry.
From the Hardcover edition.
Reading Group Guide
When her adoptive mother, Heaven, dies, bequeathing her a $10-million beachfront property, new mother Saffron Roch returns to California to claim her legacy–and to protect it from Heaven’s bitter son, Francis. Saffron brings with her her baby girl, Halla, leaving behind Halla’s cheating father, Oscar; a dream job as a correspondent in war-torn Sierra Leone; and the chance at true love with a virtual stranger. The full story of Oscar, Saffron, and the intriguing Joseph comes out as Saffron confides in her friends from the Pump Station, a breastfeeding education center in Los Angeles. Saffron is glad for company–especially as her interactions with Francis take an unexpected turn–but she can’t help thinking that the lives of almost all the Pump Station ladies are both extravagant and shallow, and completely unlike the world she valued so highly in Africa. Nonetheless, Saffron forges a tight bond with Anika, whose frank gossip and optimism are both silly and soothing, and whose friendship will help Saffron in ways she never imagined.
1. Saffron alternately refers to California and Africa as “going home.” Discuss the concept of home as presented in the book. How does Saffron’s idea of home differ from that of her friends in L.A.?
2. Why do you think Saffron joined the class at the Pump Station? Is her membership there out of character?
3. Saffron makes costly and painful errors of judgment throughout the story. Given her track record, do you feel confident in her decision to trust Joseph? Why or why not?
4. Saffron feels that she has sold out by not talking honestly with Alice in criticizing the extravagance of their Pump Station friends. Why can’t she relate to Alice, whose experience most closely resembles her own? Do you think this is dishonest or unkind?
5. What does Saffron learn from Anika’s friendship? Do you think Anika learns anything from Saffron?
6. Monique tells Saffron that she will be a good mother because “we bounce off our pasts.” Where do you see this concept at work in the book? How does it apply to Francis, for instance?
7. Why do you think Saffron is unable to see some of the obvious signs that Francis and Blue are leading her astray? Were you fooled by Francis? Why or why not?
8. What do you think of Oscar? Does he love Saffron? Was Saffron in love with him?
9. When Saffron sees a picture of Nancy’s husband, Stan, for the first time, she is struck by his unattractiveness and marvels at how Nancy can moon over him as she does. What do you think of her response to the picture–and to her friends’ relationships in general? Do you think she judges them fairly? Why or why not?
10. Do you feel that Saffron is a reliable narrator? Considering that her first version of the story she told her friends included the false detail of Oscar’s death, are there other details you think she may still be withholding or editing for her audience?
11. What do you consider to be Saffron’s biggest mistake?
12. What do you think of Heaven? Was she a good mother to Saffron? Is there anything she should have done differently to protect her adopted daughter?
13. Would Saffron be a more compelling heroine if she made smarter choices? Do you like her? Why or why not?