The Perfect Couple

1. General Impressions 

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• The novel combines elements of mystery and realistic fiction. Did you feel that one of these genre influences was stronger than the other? Did you find one of these influences more interesting? 
• Did you ever suspect the novel’s ending? If so, at what points? If not, how did you think the novel was going to end? 

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• Karen decides that having feelings for another person is acceptable since Bruce did not act upon his crush on Robin. Do you agree with her? Could you accept a partner who had a crush on someone else?
• The Perfect Couple looks at the difference between appearance and reality, with particular attention to social media. Does anything in the novel cause you to re-examine your own social media presence? 
• Do you agree with Karen that “no amount of money or logistics is worth a lifetime of settling” (184)? Why or why not? What experiences lead you to your stance? 
• Celeste worries about the ways she does not fit in with the Winburys and their ultra-wealthy world. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you did not fit in? How did you respond?
• Would you want to visit Hilderbrand’s Nantucket—a place with beautiful natural scenery and luxurious amenities but morally gray people who have dangerous secrets? 

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• Elin Hilderbrand is known for her novels set in Nantucket, but The Perfect Couple features families from London, Manhattan, and Easton, Pennsylvania, as well. How do the characters reflect the settings in which they live?
• What does the novel suggest regarding the viability of romances across class divides (such as between middle-class Celeste and wealthy Benji)? To what extent does class shape personality, both in the novel and in the world at large, and how might class divisions be bridged? 
• What commentary does the novel offer on stereotypes about race and ethnicity? How do these stereotypes manifest outside the novel’s Nantucket setting?

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• Greer bases her plots on people she knows. Does the novel suggest that there is overlap between Greer and Hilderbrand? What does this metafictional element add to the novel?
• How does the novel characterize the relationships between mothers and their children? Consider, for example, Greer and Benji, Karen and Celeste, and Chloe and her late mother, whose absence Chloe still feels. 
• Karen is tempted to tell her daughter to marry Benji for his money even when she learns Celeste doesn’t really want to marry her fiancé. Shooter, meanwhile, is enamored of how “down-to-earth” Celeste is, indicating that he romanticizes her middle-class upbringing and interest in inexpensive things. What is the relationship between money and love in the novel?
• Greer uses her experience as a mystery writer to offer insights into Nick’s investigation. How does the novel frame the role of writer and detective as overlapping or diverging from one another? 
• Does the novel suggest we are destined to become our parents, or does it argue that we can break the patterns of previous generations? What elements of the plot or characterization imply this?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Decadent meals and settings feature prominently in the novel. If you were hosting a dinner party based on the novel, what would the menu include? What would the décor be like?
• The Perfect Couple was adapted into a miniseries starring Nicole Kidman as Greer and Liev Schrieber as Tag. How does seeing actors represent the different characters affect how you picture them? Whom would you cast if you were adapting the novel?

Need more inspiration for your next meeting? Browse all of our Book Club Resources.