In this sweeping, multi-generational saga, award-winning writer Marjorie Hudson reveals the secrets of contemporary Southern neighbors—family troubles, tragedies, long-held resentments, loves. Indigo Field raises the dead and forces a reckoning—and finds the possibility of common ground.
Download a PDF of the full Book Group’s Guide for Indigo Field.
Discussion Questions
- Indigo Field opens with an abandoned field inhabited by spirits and great trees that know human stories. Have you ever been to a place like that? Do the Gooley Pines remind you of any trees you know?
- Col. Randolph Jefferson Lee feels like a fish out of water in his retirement village. Why does he feel so out of place? Can you relate to feeling that way yourself at any point in your life? Do you know any retirees who can’t adjust to retirement?
- Were you surprised to learn about Rand’s childhood hardships? How do you think that shaped him, made him the man he grew up to be?
- When the story turns to Miss Reba’s life, it’s as if we travel through a portal to a different world. Could you relate to her world and her life? What surprising things and people do Rand and Reba have in common?
- When the 14-year-old TJ Snipes comes into Miss Reba’s life, why does she dislike him so much? Is TJ likeable to you? What finally brings the two of them together?
- Miss Reba tells her secret stories to the spirit of Danielle – but nobody else. Why do you think Miss Reba has been keeping these stories secret? Who so you connect with most in those stories — Old Lucy, Sheba, others?
- Each family in Indigo Field contains a young man facing challenges and struggling to grow up – Jeff struggles for his father’s respect, Bobo wants to be “the Man.” TJ wants to find Lucy’s Island and go live there. How successful are these young men in their quests? Which one do you think grows up the most?
- When Rand’s son Jeff arrives to help the archeologist protect the bones in Indigo Field, he does not know the complexities of local Indigenous history. Do you ever wonder what the Indigenous history is where you live? A hint: many river names on today’s maps reflect the names of Indigenous nations.
- Did it surprise you that Reba and Rand weathered the storm together?
- The novel closes with a potluck feast in the Field, very different from the kind of dinner party Anne had in mind at the start. Or is it? A challenge: have a book club feast with some of the foods mentioned in Indigo Field: pimento cheese, fried apple pies, pound cake, sugar snap peas, Strawberry Shortcake, fried chicken, Cheerwine (or Cheerwine cocktails), Chicken bog, Nabs Crackers, shad or other river fish, and any favorites of your own.
Have a feast of your own at your book club meeting!
Here’s a favorite:
Miss Phoebe’s Jalapeno Pimento Cheese
Ingredients
Large block of sharp cheddar cheese
Small to medium block of mozzarella cheese
1 small jar diced pimentos
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Jalapeno peppers chopped fine
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Duke’s mayonnaise (not light or fat free)
Adapted from a recipe by Sue Farlow
Directions
- Grate both cheeses – don’t use already grated cheese, it doesn’t work
- Add the pimentos, including the liquid
- Splash the W. sauce over the cheese – add garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Add enough mayo to make a smooth consistency (I usually start with a spoonful and add more. You can always add more but can’t take it away.)
- Add the jalapeños after the mayo – you can splash some jalapeno juice on it too and mix well.
- The important thing is to make it the night before you are going to use it.