At the Owl Woman Saloon cover

At the Owl Woman Saloon

by Tess Gallagher

Set primarily in the Northwest, where the author was born and has lived for many years, these stories tell how people do more than cope with the hard turns and shares of their lives. We watch them take the unexpected next step as they face their dilemmas. Whether writing of a woman who discovers that her husband is having an affair after stumbling onto a collection of love letters or of the people who populate the Owl Woman "saloon" of the lead story, Gallagher invents wholly original characters and renders them with lyrical intensity. As with the great short stories of Flannery O'Connor, Gallagher's prose animates the no-nonsense themes of love, human pain, and healing.

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?