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Table of Contents
About The Book
The author of the “ethereal and brutally realistic” (The New York Times) Tuesday Nights in 1980 returns with a highly anticipated new novel exploring what it means to be a woman in her many forms—daughter, friend, partner, lover, and mother.
Emily writes for women’s catalogs for a living, but she’d rather be writing books. She has a handsome photographer boyfriend, but she actively wonders how and when they will eventually hurt each other. Her best work friend Megan is her lifeline, until Megan is abruptly laid off. When her world is further upended by an unplanned pregnancy, Emily is forced to make tough decisions that will change her life forever.
What will she sacrifice from her old life to make room for a new one? What fires will she be forced to extinguish, and which will keep burning? Old Flame is a story about the essential—and often existential—choices that define a woman’s life at every level, from which dress to wear to when to have a child to how to be in the world.
Emily writes for women’s catalogs for a living, but she’d rather be writing books. She has a handsome photographer boyfriend, but she actively wonders how and when they will eventually hurt each other. Her best work friend Megan is her lifeline, until Megan is abruptly laid off. When her world is further upended by an unplanned pregnancy, Emily is forced to make tough decisions that will change her life forever.
What will she sacrifice from her old life to make room for a new one? What fires will she be forced to extinguish, and which will keep burning? Old Flame is a story about the essential—and often existential—choices that define a woman’s life at every level, from which dress to wear to when to have a child to how to be in the world.
Reading Group Guide
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Introduction
The author of the “ethereal and brutally realistic” (The New York Times) Tuesday Nights in 1980 returns with a highly anticipated new novel exploring what it means to be a woman in her many forms—daughter, friend, partner, lover, and mother.
Emily writes for women’s catalogs for a living, but she’d rather be writing books. She has a handsome photographer boyfriend, but she actively wonders how and when they will eventually hurt each other. Her best work friend Megan is her lifeline, until Megan is abruptly laid off. When her world is further upended by an unplanned pregnancy, Emily is forced to make tough decisions that will change her life forever.
What will she sacrifice from her old life to make room for a new one? What fires will she be forced to extinguish, and which will keep burning? Old Flame is a story about the essential—and often existential—choices that define a woman’s life at every level, from which dress to wear to when to have a child to how to be in the world.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
Emily embarks on a journey to Italy, where she is transformed both physically and emotionally. She discovers she is pregnant, is reunited with the family that she used to nanny for, and gets into a fight with her best friend, Megan. How does Emily’s physical transformation (pregnancy) interact with her memories of Renata and her daughters as well as her relationship with Megan while she is in Italy?
The foreshadowing at the end of part two (“If I had known what Italy would do to us, I would have stopped her in the street right then. Looked her in the eyes and said, ‘Let’s not go. Let’s stay right here. You and me in the sunshine on Bedford Avenue. Best friends, frozen in the chaos of time.’” [page 87]) lets the reader know that the destruction of Emily and Megan’s friendship is impending. How did this hint shape your reading of the Italy trip? Did you have any guesses as to what would happen between the two women?
The relationships between characters, and particularly the female characters, are the driving force of the novel. Discuss how Emily establishes her identity in relation to the people in her life—Megan; Wes; Renata; her daughter, Greta; and her adoptive mother, Ann.
Throughout the novel, there are many instances of Emily feeling powerless, whether it’s being a cog in the corporate machine, watching her best friend get fired, being left alone with her infant while her boyfriend travels to Greece, etc. How does Emily reclaim some of that power by the end of the novel? How does becoming a mother hold her back? How does it empower her?
In a flashback scene from Emily’s time taking Renata’s class at the university, Renata asks, “‘At what point does compulsion become art? . . . At what point does the personal become worthy of a frame?’” (page 95). Discuss whether or not you see a line between the personal and the artistic. What is something in your life you consider to be ordinary that could potentially be interpreted as art? Which scenes from the novel come to mind when considering this topic?
When first struck with the idea to write a fictional story about Megan and her circumstances, Emily ponders the questions “DO WE LIKE HER? DOES IT MATTER IF WE LIKE HER?” (page 109). Consider these questions as they apply to Emily as a narrator. Do we like Emily? Does it matter if we like Emily?
At the end of the novel, it is revealed that Megan pressured Wes into telling Emily that he had feelings for another woman. What do you make of this? Do you think you would do the same to protect an ex-friend in this situation? What loyalty do you think we owe the people who are no longer a part of our lives?
The novel is broken into several parts, meant to represent different parts of the human experience: Birth, Business, Pleasure, Pain, Glory, and Death. Do you agree that life is broken into these themes? Identify parts of the novel associated with each theme, and consider the ways you might label parts of your own life.
Were there any questions you had by the end of the novel that you felt went unanswered? Would you have liked to see Emily and Megan’s reunion, or watch men like Todd and Wes receive some karma, or witness baby Greta grow up? Why do you think the author left these elements up to the reader’s imagination?
Enhance your book club
Discuss a time that you got in a fight with a friend or loved one. How did you resolve it?
Review the texts referenced in the acknowledgements (page 307) and choose a poem or novel from the list to read as further reading. Discuss your choice(s) with the group.
The events that transpire in Italy define much of Emily’s perspective about herself and those around her. If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel anywhere you want, where would you go? What would you hope to learn there?
Emily adds Megan to her “tiny list of beloved humans” once she realizes that she feels genuine love for Megan as her best friend (page 80). Who is on your list of beloved humans, and how do you decide who ends up there?
The author of the “ethereal and brutally realistic” (The New York Times) Tuesday Nights in 1980 returns with a highly anticipated new novel exploring what it means to be a woman in her many forms—daughter, friend, partner, lover, and mother.
Emily writes for women’s catalogs for a living, but she’d rather be writing books. She has a handsome photographer boyfriend, but she actively wonders how and when they will eventually hurt each other. Her best work friend Megan is her lifeline, until Megan is abruptly laid off. When her world is further upended by an unplanned pregnancy, Emily is forced to make tough decisions that will change her life forever.
What will she sacrifice from her old life to make room for a new one? What fires will she be forced to extinguish, and which will keep burning? Old Flame is a story about the essential—and often existential—choices that define a woman’s life at every level, from which dress to wear to when to have a child to how to be in the world.
Topics & Questions for Discussion
Emily embarks on a journey to Italy, where she is transformed both physically and emotionally. She discovers she is pregnant, is reunited with the family that she used to nanny for, and gets into a fight with her best friend, Megan. How does Emily’s physical transformation (pregnancy) interact with her memories of Renata and her daughters as well as her relationship with Megan while she is in Italy?
The foreshadowing at the end of part two (“If I had known what Italy would do to us, I would have stopped her in the street right then. Looked her in the eyes and said, ‘Let’s not go. Let’s stay right here. You and me in the sunshine on Bedford Avenue. Best friends, frozen in the chaos of time.’” [page 87]) lets the reader know that the destruction of Emily and Megan’s friendship is impending. How did this hint shape your reading of the Italy trip? Did you have any guesses as to what would happen between the two women?
The relationships between characters, and particularly the female characters, are the driving force of the novel. Discuss how Emily establishes her identity in relation to the people in her life—Megan; Wes; Renata; her daughter, Greta; and her adoptive mother, Ann.
Throughout the novel, there are many instances of Emily feeling powerless, whether it’s being a cog in the corporate machine, watching her best friend get fired, being left alone with her infant while her boyfriend travels to Greece, etc. How does Emily reclaim some of that power by the end of the novel? How does becoming a mother hold her back? How does it empower her?
In a flashback scene from Emily’s time taking Renata’s class at the university, Renata asks, “‘At what point does compulsion become art? . . . At what point does the personal become worthy of a frame?’” (page 95). Discuss whether or not you see a line between the personal and the artistic. What is something in your life you consider to be ordinary that could potentially be interpreted as art? Which scenes from the novel come to mind when considering this topic?
When first struck with the idea to write a fictional story about Megan and her circumstances, Emily ponders the questions “DO WE LIKE HER? DOES IT MATTER IF WE LIKE HER?” (page 109). Consider these questions as they apply to Emily as a narrator. Do we like Emily? Does it matter if we like Emily?
At the end of the novel, it is revealed that Megan pressured Wes into telling Emily that he had feelings for another woman. What do you make of this? Do you think you would do the same to protect an ex-friend in this situation? What loyalty do you think we owe the people who are no longer a part of our lives?
The novel is broken into several parts, meant to represent different parts of the human experience: Birth, Business, Pleasure, Pain, Glory, and Death. Do you agree that life is broken into these themes? Identify parts of the novel associated with each theme, and consider the ways you might label parts of your own life.
Were there any questions you had by the end of the novel that you felt went unanswered? Would you have liked to see Emily and Megan’s reunion, or watch men like Todd and Wes receive some karma, or witness baby Greta grow up? Why do you think the author left these elements up to the reader’s imagination?
Enhance your book club
Discuss a time that you got in a fight with a friend or loved one. How did you resolve it?
Review the texts referenced in the acknowledgements (page 307) and choose a poem or novel from the list to read as further reading. Discuss your choice(s) with the group.
The events that transpire in Italy define much of Emily’s perspective about herself and those around her. If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel anywhere you want, where would you go? What would you hope to learn there?
Emily adds Megan to her “tiny list of beloved humans” once she realizes that she feels genuine love for Megan as her best friend (page 80). Who is on your list of beloved humans, and how do you decide who ends up there?
About The Author
Adrianna Ault at Ault Studios
Molly Prentiss is the author of Old Flame and Tuesday Nights in 1980, which was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, and shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine in France. Her writing has been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Red Hook, New York, with her husband and daughter. You can find her at Molly-Prentiss.com or on Instagram @MollyPrentiss.
Product Details
- Publisher: Gallery/Scout Press (April 11, 2023)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781501121586
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Raves and Reviews
“Enthralling . . . [T]here are echoes of Elena Ferrante . . . ‘Old Flame’ is that rare novel whose author – as well as her protagonist – gains wisdom and authority as the story unfolds, never failing to remind us that while loss and grief are inescapable, joy and fulfillment are possible.” —The New York Times Book Review
“[A] confident, bittersweet new novel . . . As much as this work is about friendships, relationships and motherhood, it is also a book about writing . . . Prentiss captures well the excitement of collaboration and how it engenders creativity.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Prentiss writes with astounding electric, brutal precision about many topics--motherhood, Italy, the pursuit of art, female friendship and, the big one of course, love. This [book] is really good . . . Become the star of your book club for recommending this remarkable novel.” —The Mountains
“Prentiss has a gift for crafting complex characters, and her insight on the mixed emotions around adoption and unexpected pregnancy ring true throughout. With plenty of charm and drama, Prentiss keeps readers turning the pages.”—Publishers Weekly
“[An] introspective, energetic novel . . . Prentiss’ writing is lively and dynamic . . . [T]he intimate distress, yearning, grief, and laughter she evokes makes the novel seem like her protagonist's memoir, resulting in a tale that grants readers a sense of connection, hope, and comfort.”—Booklist
“[W]restles with the binaries of art versus motherhood, chosen family versus found family, and social expectation versus authenticity . . . Prentiss’ prose is energetic and inventive.”—Kirkus Reviews
“A stylish and sharp look at one woman’s attempt to balance the competing interests of her work and life. A balm for anyone overwhelmed with contradictory desires.” – Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
“Molly Prentiss is a deeply empathic noticer who never fails to articulate the brutal, beautiful unseen elements of life. The kind of writing that elicits that involuntary kind of moan of recognition.”—Marie-Helene Bertino, author of 2am at the Cat's Pajamas and Parakeet
"Old Flame is amazing—a warmhearted and luminous page-turner about desire, time, love, parenthood, work, and art in women’s lives. What a woman invents of herself, what the world demands she be, and the stories she tells to find her many selves across a lifetime are considered with both the scorching verve of Elena Ferrante and the frank humor of Maria Semple. This unforgettable book is a love letter to love itself, to how hard and wonderful life is, and to finding home, in all its thrilling, changing forms, ever mysterious and known." —Sophie McManus, author of The Unfortunates
"Old Flame asks all the important questions: What if women are people? What if relinquishment of the Self is a good thing? How does a person make good on the past while charting a future? What does it mean to no longer be young?" —Elisa Albert, author of Human Blues
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): Old Flame Hardcover 9781501121586
- Author Photo (jpg): Molly Prentiss Adrianna Ault at Ault Studios(0.1 MB)
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