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Romantic,
Dramatic,
Beautiful

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Corinne: A Novel
by Rebecca Morrow

Published: 2022-07-12T00:0
Hardcover : 432 pages
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You want to walk away from the things that are bad for you and never look back.

That's what Corinne Callahan wants.

Cast out of the fundamentalist church she was raised in and cut off from her family, Corinne builds a new life for herself. A good one. But she never stops missing the ...

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Introduction

You want to walk away from the things that are bad for you and never look back.

That's what Corinne Callahan wants.

Cast out of the fundamentalist church she was raised in and cut off from her family, Corinne builds a new life for herself. A good one. But she never stops missing the life—and the love— she's left behind.

It's Enoch Miller who ruins everything for her. She'll never get him out from under her skin.

Set over fifteen years and told with astonishing intimacy, Rebecca Morrow's Corinne is the story of a woman who risks everything she's built for the one man she can never have.

Editorial Review

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Excerpt

Chapter One

All the good Bible names must have been taken when Enoch Miller was born.
“Can’t we do ‘Daniel’?” his dad would have said.
And his mom would have been like, “ ‘Daniel’? So that people think we only go to church on Easter? We may as well name him
‘Matthew.’ Or ‘James.’ Next you’ll suggest ‘Thomas.’ ”
“My name is Thomas, sweetheart.”
“Your mother was Episcopalian. I rest my case.”
“What about ‘Jacob’?”
“This congregation already has three ‘Jacob’s.”
“ ‘Isaac’?”
“It’s a little try- hard. I’m looking for a name that’s try- really- really- hard. Like— not quite ‘Zebediah,’ but close.” Enoch Miller.
Enoch, Enoch, Enoch.
He looked terrible in that brown suit. He’d looked terrible in it two years ago, back when it fit, and now he looked ridiculous. The pants were too short, and the buttons strained on the jacket. He should just wear it open, who was he kidding. He was built like a front door, no waist at all. Imagine a rectangle with legs, crammed into a brown suit. That’s what Enoch Miller looked like. (Enoch, Enoch.) ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the publisher:

1. What are your first impressions of Corinne and Enoch at the beginning of the novel?
Do they change over the course of the story?

2. Do you think Corinne and Enoch were in love with each other from the beginning? If so, what was the moment you realized? When do you believe Corinne fell in love with Enoch? What about Enoch with Corinne?

3. From gendered responsibilities to the divide between converts and those born in the church, the church in Corinne defines others by strict roles. How do Corinne and Enoch find their
own identities, both within and outside the church? How do their views of themselves affect their actions?

4. Throughout the novel, Corinne and Enoch have to make difficult choices between their family, their livelihood, and the person they love. Do you agree with their choices? Why or why not?

5. In Chapter 35 Corinne thinks she “didn’t have any rules of her own to worry about, but she was afraid of Enoch’s rules.” Why do you think she was afraid? What rules was she referring to?

6. Corrine has been called “a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.”
In what ways do you see the Shakespearean couple mirrored
in Corinne and Enoch?

7. Several of the characters—Corinne, Enoch, Shannon—have
been cast out from the church. Why do you think this is an
effective punishment? How do you see community— and a
lack of—affecting the characters in Corinne?

8. Discuss how the church uses shame and guilt to influence
the congregation. How do different characters respond?

9. How did the end of the novel make you feel? How do you
see Corinne and Enoch’s relationship playing out after the
events of the novel?


From the publisher (audiobook version)

Describe the evolution of Corinne and Enoch's relationship in one word. Would you use different words to describe their teen relationship and their adult relationship?

Throughout the novel, we listened to Corinne struggle to find her own independence within a firmly established community rich with its own rules, values and traditions. Have you ever experienced something like this? Do you think there was anything you would have done differently if you were in Corinne's position?

Discuss how the church uses shame and guilt to influence the congregation. How do different characters respond?

How did the end of the novel make you feel?

How do you see Corinne and Enoch’s relationship playing out after the events of the novel?

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

A beautiful love story
by lpollinger (see profile) 09/16/22
Corrine and Enoch belong to the fundamentalist church. As teenagers, the break one of the rules. Corinne is cast out because she will not repent. Enoch does repent and is allowed to remain in the church. Corinne moves away and begins her new worldly life. After about fifteen years her family slowly starts to accept her back into the family. She gets reacquainted with Enoch and they both realize the are truly in love. The same roadblock remain, he will not leave the church and she will it repent in order to rejoin. Can their love survive? This is a well written story, however I would not recommend this to a book club because of the graphic sex scenes at the end of the story. They did not add anything and I felt they could have been discussed a lot more tastefully.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by liz p. (see profile) 09/16/22

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