The Long Run Reading Group Guide

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The Long Run
Written by Leo Furey

Format: Paperback
Category: Fiction
Publisher: Trumpeter Books
Pub Date: October 2007
Page Count: 384
ISBN: 978-1-59030-528-7
Price: $13.95

Reader’s Guide

1. How does the author’s style set the tone and mood of the book? What is distinctive about the characters’ dialogue and the way they make up code names for things? How did this writing style affect your connection with the story and the characters?

2. How did the meaning of the title change for you as you read the book?

3. How do the boys create a sense of family within the tight schedule and strict discipline of “the Mount”? Have you experienced a similar camaraderie or close circle in your own life?

4. The book opens with a scene from a typical religion class with Brother McCann. How do you respond to the character of Brother McCann? How does his character appear to change over the course of the story? How does he influence the boys’ actions?

5. What do you think of the way sexual abuse is treated in the story? Do you identify with Blackie, who seems to know all about the priests’ secret abuses and isn’t surprised by them? Or do you relate more with Carmichael, the confused narrator, who doesn’t seem to understand Nowland’s silence in response to the abuse, or his “sadness”?

6. What’s the connection between the first Friday of the month, confession day, described in chapter 3, and Carmichael’s observation that the “night walker” only visits the boys’ dorm at midnight on the first Friday of the month?

7. What is Blackie’s role in the story? As ringleader of the Dare Klub, he challenges the boys to risk severe punishments by acting out. What is it about him that inspires the boys in the Klub?

8. What did you think of Brother Superior offering the boys “the act of transference”? Is he portrayed as a monster or is there a chance that he’s genuinely confused or delusional? Does that make him any more sympathetic?

9. Blackie always respected Carmichael, the narrator, for his writing skills. He hoped that Carmichael would keep a record of all the events that occurred at the Mount. When Blackie turns to Carmichael to say good-bye, he says, “Remember to listen hard when someone speaks. . . . Most people never listen hard.” How is this a message from Blackie, on behalf of the boys, to the world at large?

About the Author:
A Conversation with Leo Furey

This is your first novel. What led you to make the leap from writing short stories and poetry to writing a full-length work of fiction?
Writing longer fiction happened in a roundabout way. I never thought I would write long fiction and always felt intimidated by the large canvas. Several writer friends encouraged me to expand one of my stories. They wanted to know more about the central characters. So I wrote more about them. Soon I had several linked stories and was well on the way toward a novel.

How did the idea for this novel originate?
The idea for the novel comes partly from growing up Catholic and partly from “inventing characters” and following them around, to quote Maupassant.

What sort of research goes into writing a story that takes place in a Catholic orphanage for boys during the 1960s?
I was a teenager in the ‘60s and spent some time in an orphanage and went to a Jesuit high school. That, combined with the theater, a vivid imagination, and a heavy dose of boys’ literature was sufficient research.

How closely—if at all—does the book relay your own experiences growing up?
Tim O’Brien, who wrote a wonderful fiction about his Vietam experience called The Things They Carried, defines fiction as “true stories that never happened.” All of the characters in my novel are originals or composites. As with all fiction, a portion of the book is rooted in reality but it is by no means “memoir.” It is fiction, very much a product of my imagination.

Which authors or literary works have influenced your own writing?
As a young high school student I had the privilege of playing three leading Shakespeare roles. This opened up my doors of perception and imagination in a way that no ‘60s drug and no ‘90s electronic gadget could ever have done. It prompted me to pursue a literary career. I taught high school and university for twenty-five years. During that time I directed over fifty plays and read voraciously. I could name hundreds of writers who’ve blown my mind. But it all started with The Boss, William Shakespeare. I look back on those high school days with pride and gratitude.