book club kit
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.
In The Turnout, sisters Dara and Marie were homeschooled and raised in the ballet studio run by their mother. In what ways did the sisters have an atypical upbringing? How did their mother, and the rigorous structure of ballet training, influence them? How did Dara and Marie individually internalize this influence, and how do their differences manifest in adulthood? Are they so different after all?
5.
Talk about the Durant house. What are some of its characteristics? In what ways did you see it come to embody elements of the story?
6.
Marie becomes infatuated with Derek, the contractor. Why do you think she is so drawn to him, and why does he hold such power over her? Were you surprised by their relationship? Discuss how his invasion of the studio space impacts all three members of the trio.
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7.
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8.
Dara, Marie, and Charlie, Dara’s husband, are a tightly enmeshed trio. Discuss both the personal and professional dynamics among them. What accounts for their closeness? In what way do their bonds transcend traditional sibling and sibling-in-law relationships? Resistance to change is a big theme in this novel. Why do you think Dara, Marie, and Charlie are so insistent on maintaining the status quo? What are some things that come into their lives that disrupt that? Would these changes have happened without the introduction of Derek?
4.
Ballet is often considered incredibly glamorous, but the behind-the-scenes look at the Durant School of Dance shows a very different side to the art form. Were you surprised, or not surprised, by anything in the studio or with the students and the practice of ballet? Do you think these rigors are specific to ballet?
Neither Dara nor Marie has any children of her own, but both play a big role in the lives of their young students. How does each of the sisters navigate this type of relationship differently, and how much do their childhood experiences inform how they act as adult mentors? A shocking act of violence occurs toward the end of The Turnout. Were you surprised by what happened? Did you see any signs leading up to the event?
9.
The Nutcracker is one of the most famous ballets of all time, in spite of its relatively dark subject matter. What do you think of when you think of The Nutcracker? How do themes from the ballet show themselves in The Turnout?
10.
What do you think is next for Dara, Marie, and Charlie?
A Conversation with
M E GA N A B B OT T © Drew Reilly
THE TURNOUT EXPLORES THE WORLD OF A BALLET SCHOOL, AND YOU’VE BEEN DRAWN TO SIMILAR SETTINGS IN THE PAST—GYMNASTICS IN YOU WILL KNOW ME AND CHEER IN DARE ME. WHAT INTERESTS YOU ABOUT THESE TERRAINS? WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT BALLET?
SO MANY READERS HAVE NOTED THE ACCURACY OF DETAILS IN THIS BOOK. ARE YOU A DANCER YOURSELF? HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT DOING YOUR RESEARCH? WHAT SURPRISED YOU MOST ABOUT THE WORLD OF BALLET?
I tend to be drawn to hothouse environments—worlds that are consuming, that set their own rules, operate in some ways by tribal principles. And I’m fascinated by the notion of having some degree of mastery and control over one’s body. But ballet has all these other valences that have always drawn me, its artistry, of course, but also the way we, as a culture, have tied it to fantasies of femininity, the female ideal. Elegant, perfect, untouchable visions capable of seemingly impossible feats of strength, height, physics, endurance, and grace. And too, for so many of us, part of its appeal are the dark themes of so many of the great classical ballets: the dance of love and death.
No, I never made it past two awkward years of ballet class! But research is what makes a book come alive for me, so I practically drown in it. I read everything I can find—memoirs, biographies, cultural histories, etc.—and watch everything, from The Red Shoes to YouTube videos of random studio rehearsals. And, of course, a good excuse to go to New York City Ballet productions. There’s always going to be mistakes, but when I finished the final draft, I also had a former ballet dancer read it through for any factual inaccuracies she could find. The stuff to which I’m drawn the most are the intricate details, such as the rituals of preparing one’s pointe shoes. There are
hundreds of videos online of dancers’ specific and distinct approaches to the multi-step process (coating the inside with glue, shaving the bottom with a boxcutter, bending and twisting the heel). Like sports (and writing), the ritual and superstition—the magic of it—fascinates me.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE NUTCRACKER AS THE CULMINATING PERFORMANCE OF THE NOVEL? WHAT ELEMENTS OF THAT SHOW, IF ANY, REFLECT THE CHARACTERS AND THE LARGER STORY? I grew up on The Nutcracker and still go every year here in NYC, but I’d never read the original story by E.T.A. Hoffmann or looked closely at the narrative. Hoffmann is perhaps most known today in popular culture for The Sandman and was a big influence on everyone from Poe to contemporary horror directors and a regular subject for Freud. Reading it was pretty revelatory—a dark, entrancing fairytale that seems to speak directly to female coming-of-age, its perils and promise. A young girl who receives this nutcracker—this “little man”—from her godfather, whose attentions feel slightly predatory. She takes the “little man” to bed and disappears into this elaborate fantasy. The ballet layers all this candied enchantment over it (and changes the ending), but the story remains the same. It reads like a parable for entering womanhood, the unknown terrain. It seems so fitting, then, that the ballet has become a rite of passage for so many children. But I must admit, I didn’t intend to draw connections between the ballet and the story of The Turnout. It happened organically. I can see it now. Both are stories of women bristling at the constraints of the world they grew up in, seeking a way to venture out into the dark beyond. The risks and rewards of that.
YOU’VE NOTED THE INITIAL IMPETUS FOR THE BOOK WAS LISTENING TO THE DIRTY JOHN PODCAST. HOW DID THAT PLAY INTO THE STORY? It really informed the conflict between Dara and Marie for me. When the podcast first came out, I was struck by the harsh treatment the women victimized by “John” received, especially by other women (e.g., in the comments, on social media). It seemed the greatest wrath was reserved for the women rather than the sociopathic con artist at the story’s center. For me, it set in high relief the extent to which women can often be the most damning judges of other women and can slip into blaming the (female) victims and shaming them—for their desires, their romantic fantasies, their sexual appetites. These judgments felt like some kind of spell or incantation, a way of distancing themselves, of saying, “That could never be me.” So that very much informed the character of Dara for me, her horror over her sister Marie’s choices and actions. How tricky and complex it is. And it says so much more about Dara than Marie.
MARIE, DARA, AND CHARLIE MAINTAIN A FRAGILE EQUILIBRIUM WHILE RUNNING THE BALLET SCHOOL. HOW DID YOU FIND BALANCE BETWEEN THESE THREE CHARACTERS, AND WHAT DID IT TAKE TO DISRUPT THAT BALANCE? I’m always fascinated by the way families function, the rules everyone must abide by to keep it all going. How it requires a certain amount of secrecy, deceit, blindness, forgiveness. How every family develops its own lore about itself and casts each member in a role. I wanted to show how Dara, Marie, and Charlie created this equilibrium to protect themselves from a tumultuous childhood. Their connection was so beautiful and it saved them. But how eventually it couldn’t hold anymore. It became a prison.
And, at the beginning of the novel, we see Marie taking the first tentative steps away. She’s moved out of the house, but only gotten as far as the ballet studio. The events of the novel—and the introduction of the charismatic Derek—become her potential escape hatch.
YOU SERVED AS SHOWRUNNER, WRITER, AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ON DARE ME, AND WERE WIDELY ACCLAIMED FOR YOUR WORK AS A STAFF WRITER FOR HBO’S THE DEUCE. HOW DOES YOUR WRITING PROCESS DIFFER WHEN WORKING ON TV? Novel writing is such a solitary activity, but TV writing is deeply collaborative. Being able to alternate is great, if dizzying. I grew up loving movies and TV, so the chances afforded me on Dare Me were truly a dream come true. To get to create this whole shimmering world with others—the directors, our cinematographer, production designer, a room of writers, the brilliant cast and crew—bringing their own ideas to it was a gift. But then there’s nothing more satisfying than returning to the dark, shimmering cave of novel writing. Where it’s just you and your own fevered brain.
WHAT PIECES OF POP CULTURE—BOOKS, FILMS, MUSIC, PODCASTS, ETC.—INSPIRE YOU? For everything I write, I have a bunch of books, movies (and movie images), songs, and photographs that help me build the world of the story. I do this thing on Twitter—a daily inspirational image or image and quote—that’s really about me trying to transport myself. It’s like a little spell or incantation. My most regular go-tos are film noir, the movies of Scorsese and Hitchcock and Wong Kar-Wai, the photographs of everyone from William Eggleston to Eve Arnold.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU? I’m developing The Turnout for a limited series right now and also working on a few TV/film projects in active development. Those are collaborative and exciting—one is an adaptation of a John D. MacDonald novel that I’m writing with George Pelecanos for HBO, and the other is a feature script with Scott Frank (The Queen’s Gambit ). And I’m working on a new novel! At last.
T HE TU R Nplaylist OUT one.
LARK by Angel Olsen
two.
BALLAD OF BIG NOTHING by Julien Baker
three.
NASHVILLE by Liz Phair
four.
THE NUTCRACKER: COMPLETE BALLET FOR PIANO NO. 20, PAS DE DEUX by Tchaikovsky
five.
RACK OF HIS by Fiona Apple
six.
ON A GOOD DAY (JOANNA NEWSOM) by Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster