7. Rachel and Andy’s relationship evolves in starts and stops. What are the external factors that work against them? Compare and contrast how the expectations of others affect how Andy and Rachel see each other, as well as their own expectations of what a happily coupled life should look like. Consider the roles that both time and timing play in their relationship. How does timing pull them apart while time brings them back together?
8. 9/11 is a turning point in the novel, and of course, was a pivotal moment for the world. Like Andy and Rachel, is there someone you would feel compelled to reach out to during a similar kind of crisis? Why do you think most of us have that person in our past whose memory we can’t quite let go of, who we yearn to reach out to when disaster strikes, whether it’s personal or global? Where does that yearning come from—and under normal conditions, what stands in the way of acting on it?
9. Did you feel that Jay and Maisie were better matches for Rachel and Andy? Why or why not? What does the novel seem to say about the roles that compatibility, stability, and desire play in lasting relationships—and how does the notion of “opposites attract” play into this?
10. Mr. Sills proves to be a formative mentor for Andy, but in what ways does he fail him? How do you feel his last words of advice affect Andy’s choices later in the novel?
11. How does the novel illustrate the ways that we love differently at each stage of our lives? How do Andy and Rachel love each other—and those around them—differently over the course of the novel? Does their connection change or is it at its core still the same?
12. A recurring theme in Who Do You Love is brokenness; the most obvious example is Rachel’s “broken heart.” Where else do we see how both Rachel and Andy are broken? Despite coming from very different backgrounds, each character is also struggling with self-identity throughout the novel. Compare and contrast the ways in which Andy and Rachel work to fix their brokenness by carving out their own identities—Andy’s focus and drive to achieve a singular goal, as opposed to Rachel’s sometimes messy and circuitous road toward career and family. Where do these two very different paths leave them, and are they still broken at the end of the novel? Ultimately, do you think they help each other heal, or do they heal themselves?
Enhance Your Book Club
1. Andy starts running as a way to deal with his anger. Try going on a group run, or some other form of exercise, and see if you find similar stress relief. Follow up by discussing how exercise has functioned in your life, or other methods you use to deal with difficult emotions.
2. Visit Jennifer Weiner’s website at to learn more about her and her books, and follow her on Twitter @jenniferweiner. Fans of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette: Be sure to tune in to her live tweets of the show on Monday nights and join the conversation!
3. Many of Jennifer Weiner’s novels feature destinations throughout Philadelphia, the city she calls home. Perhaps plan a trip through www.visitphilly.com to see some of the locations from this book—Rittenhouse Square and the Reading Terminal Market—and from her other book as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photography by Tamara Staples
Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and All Fall Down. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives with her family in Philadelphia. Visit her online at JenniferWeiner.com.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
authors.simonandschuster.com/Jennifer-Weiner
BOOKS BY JENNIFER WEINER
Good in Bed
In Her Shoes
Little Earthquakes
Goodnight Nobody
The Guy Not Taken
Certain Girls
Best Friends Forever
Fly Away Home
Then Came You
The Next Best Thing
All Fall Down
Who Do You Love
PERMISSIONS
Epigraph from “Isis” by Bob Dylan copyright © 1975 by Ram’s Horn Music; renewed 2003 by Ram’s Horn Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.
Excerpt on pp. 104–5 from The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller. Copyright © 1992 by Robert James Waller. Used by permission of Grand Central Publishing. All rights reserved.
Excerpt on pp. 227–28 from “Please Come to Boston.” Words and music by Dave Loggins. Copyright © 1973, 1974 Universal Music Corp. and Universal—Polygram International Publishing, Inc. Copyright renewed. All rights controlled and administered by Universal Music Corp. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.
Excerpt on pp. 227–28 from “Please Come to Boston.” Words & music by Dave Loggins. © Copyright 1974 PolyGram International Publishing Incorporated/Universal Music Corporation. Universal/MCA Music Limited. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission of Music Sales Limited.
Excerpt on p. 363 from “Hello, Young Lovers.” Copyright © 1951 by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Copyright renewed. Williamson Music (ASCAP), an Imagem Company owner of publication and allied rights throughout the world. International copyright secured. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real
people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places,
and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance
to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Jennifer Weiner, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Atria Books hardcover edition August 2015
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weiner, Jennifer.
Who do you love : a novel / Jennifer Weiner. —First Atria Books hardcover edition.
pages ; cm
1. First loves—Fiction. 2. Serendipity—Fiction. 3. Man-woman relationships—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3573.E3935W48 2015
813'.54—dc23 2015022739
ISBN 978-1-4516-1781-8
ISBN 978-1-4516-1783-2 (ebook)
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