The Alaskan Laundry (41 page)

Thanks for the unfaltering love and understanding of my uncle and aunt Fred and Mary Jo, and for having the Farm, and the pickup to borrow—you were my own geography of hope as a kid. To Donna Lee and Lou DiNardo, I feel very lucky to have scored you as in-laws. To my father, Cecil Jones, who was committed to this book from its inception, and to my sister, Laura Jones, whom I love and am so proud of. To my stepfather, Joseph Lurie, thank you for your strength, your constancy, your goodness; I will always look to you.

My daughter, Haley Marie: you are my heart. Everything. All of it.

And Rachel, tug dweller, eagle-eyed copy editor, rough-stock, gorgeous wife. Who knew we would even be allowed to dream such things? And I get to walk with you through this life . . . crazy luck of mine.

At eighteen, Tara Marconi is stumbling into adulthood unable to anchor herself in a world without her mother, losing her connection with the people she has loved, and haunted by a dark secret. She hasn't felt at home in a long while—her mother's death left her unmoored and created a seemingly insurmountable rift between her and her father. Desperate to put distance between herself and her pain, she makes her way to “the Rock,” a remote island in Alaska governed by the seasons and the demands of the world of commercial fishing. In the majestic, tough boundary lands of the forty-ninth state she begins to work her way up the fishing ladder—from hatchery assistant all the way to crabber on the Bering Sea. She learned discipline from years as a young boxer in Philadelphia, but here she learns anew what it means to work hard, to do something well, to connect, and—in buying and fixing up an old tugboat—how to finally make her way toward home.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What do you know after reading the opening scene? How did the descriptions of the landscape and of Tara's experience on the boat bring you into the story? How is Tara affected by her surroundings, and how did the environment compare with the preconceptions you had about Alaska?
   

2. One of the things that brings Tara to Alaska is the idea of living off the sea and being involved in the fishing world, as her mother's Sicilian family has done for generations. Compare Tara's experiences in Alaska to her imagined Sicily. Do you think they are more alike or more different than Tara expects?
   

3. When Tara sets eyes on Laney's old tugboat, the
   Pacific Chief
   , it's love at first sight. There also seems to be an instant connection between her and Laney, even though they are very different people. “What is it with that old tug and you pie-in-the-sky girls?” the harbormaster asks Tara (
   p. 97
   ). What do you think the two women have in common? What drew each of them to the tugboat?
   

4. Though they talk about being on separate paths, Connor still has a powerful hold over Tara and influences her throughout the novel in a variety of ways. For example, it is after receiving his letter and gift of pajamas that she asks Newt to get her a job at the processor. What is it about Connor's letters that seems to galvanize Tara? What does Connor come to symbolize for her during her time in Alaska?
   

5. Tara and Connor often compare where they live now—Alaska, New York City—to growing up in the old Italian neighborhoods of South Philadelphia. Discuss the differences in culture between their childhood home and Alaska. What kinds of things would you put on a list defining the cultural chasm between Alaska and the lower forty-eight? What traits and preoccupations are shared across such different communities and landscapes? How do these fit into your sense of a national identity?
   

6. Tara's cousin Acuzio tells her of Alaska, “It's a man's world, shows you what you're made of” (
   p. 10
   ). But afterward, Tara's mother contradicts him. “Your cousin, he don't know nothing,” she says, explaining that it's the work that makes you strong; your gender doesn't matter. Who, in the end, do you think was correct? Discuss the various ways in which this novel explores themes of gender identity and relationships between people. How does Tara defy these stereotypes, wittingly and unwittingly? Do you think there is something about the novel's setting that changes the usual dynamic between the sexes?
   

7. There appear to be two defining moments that push Tara toward her decision to move to Alaska. Describe how each of these events influenced her and led her to make the decisions she did.
   

8. Through her relationship with Betteryear, Tara gains another perspective on the conquering of the Alaskan wilderness. What meaning for her lies in the tragedy of Native peoples like the Tlingit? Why do you think Betteryear takes such a shine to her, and what do you think they are standing in for in each other's lives?
   

9. Tara often thinks about her father's stubbornness and how much pain his temper has caused her over the years. Were you surprised at how things changed for them over the course of the novel?
   

10. What does home mean to Tara? How does her idea of home evolve over the course of the novel?
    

11. What does Alaska teach Tara about teamwork and community? How does her new community come together in the novel's final chapters?
    

12. The book's title comes from Newt, who explains, “We're all tumbling around in the Alaskan laundry out here” (
    p. 172
    ). What does he mean by this metaphor? Do you find the description apt for Tara and the other characters she encounters? Why do you think the author chose
    The Alaskan Laundry
    as the novel's title?
    

B
RENDAN
J
ONES
lives on a tugboat in Alaska and works in commercial fishing. A Stegner fellow, he studied and boxed at Oxford University. His work has appeared in the
New York Times
,
Ploughshares
,
Popular Woodworking
, and on NPR. He lives in Sitka, Alaska.