land. How does Cunningham's move to the country both echo her grandmother's immigration and acculturation to America and signal a return to her "roots"? Discuss the culture clashes between the city and country people in this book. How do they mirror clashes between immigrants and native-born Americans? 3. Houses, as much as people, are characters in this memoir. Cite examples from the book of how Cunningham anthropormorphizes her various houses, especially Willowby? Additionally, how do the houses in this book reflect their owners ambitions? What does Cunningham's ownership of The Inn say about her ambitions and aspirations? How about the dentists (the "dentocracy") who buy baronial castles in Tuxedo Park? 4. In many ways, A PLACE IN THE COUNTRY is a love story. Discuss how different kinds of love are illustrated in this book, from romantic love to mother love to a homeowner's love, and the circumstances under which she falls in and out of love over the course of the book. (Like houses, Cunningham outgrows certain relationships in this book.) What might Cunningham be trying to say, however implicitly, about the nature of love itself? 5. At one point (page 107), Cunningham says she never wants to become a prisoner to her house like her Tuxedo Park neighbors have. Does she succeed in this? How is her situation at Willowby different, if at all? Can the Bowerses be called "prisoners" of their house as well? (Think of Kelly and Nate's experiences and difficulties on the dairy farm.) 6. A