Today Will Be Different

The novel is divided into seven chapters. How does the novel’s structure support its themes? Why do you think Semple used this structure?

Joe is a staunch atheist who is revealed to have become a born-again Christian. What effect does this reveal have on the narrative and its themes? How do Joe and Eleanor navigate this major change together, and how do their efforts reflect their growth as individuals and as a couple?

Eleanor explains early in the novel that being the child of a parent with an alcohol addiction is a defining experience. Compare and contrast the ways in which Eleanor and Ivy are affected by this experience.

Semple interrupts the main plot to explore the story of Daniel Clowes nominating Eleanor’s work in the chapter “The Flood Girls,” the formation of Ivy’s relationship with Bucky and the dissolution of Eleanor and Ivy’s relationship in the chapter “The Troubled Troubadour,” and Joe’s experience that led to his conversion in “The Plan.” How do these chapters affect the story narratively and structurally?

In Chapter 5, “Blur,” Alonzo Wrenn laments a former student’s assertion that his syllabi are not diverse enough. How does the novel handle the topic of diversity in school curriculums?

What effect does the use of observational humor and stream-of-consciousness prose in Eleanor’s perspective have on the narrative style in the novel? How effective is it at developing Eleanor as a character? What effect do the other perspectives’ writing styles have on the narrative style?

At the end of the novel, the conflict between Eleanor and Ivy remains largely unresolved. What do you think is Semple’s reason for ending the novel with this conflict still present?

Seattle plays an important role in the novel as its setting. What is the importance of this setting, and how does the protagonist’s possible move to Scotland affect Seattle’s role in the story?