Alpha Bette

A resonant tale of love, loss, and learning how to let go

Bette Gartner, a ninety-five-year-old widow, wakes up one morning and decides to throw a dinner party that night for her small family, staff, two neighbors, and a medium—and no one knows why.

The story takes place over the course of the day and is told through the multiple points of view of Bette’s guests, switching back and forth between them as we learn about their motivations, dreams, hopes, and fears. These various storylines converge at the dinner table, where the coming together of different personalities, each with their own tensions and pain points, erupts into epiphanies, resolutions, and new beginnings before the final act of the evening Bette has planned.

Alpha Bette is more than the story of a particular family’s history. Aside from recounting how the characters navigate the daily mundanities of urban life, it also dwells on their larger existential anxieties and the impact of the holes and absences that deceased and displaced loved ones leave behind.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Green Leaf Book Group.

Book club questions for Alpha Bette by Jennifer Manocherian

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

Bette believed she had ability to control the timing of her death. Do you think it is possible? Did she die? If so, and it was not by sheer willpower, how did she die?

Did the characters ring true for you? Which of them did you get to know best? Least? Like best? Like least? Why?

What work did Bette feel she had to accomplish before she died? How did she go about it and was she successful?

What was the function of the medium in the book? Was it needed to help inform the ending? Had she not been a character in the book, would the ending have made no sense?

Bette had many relationships and many people relied on her. What is your impression of how she navigated these relationships to make her ultimate decision? Which relationship did you find most moving?

Despite all their differences, what if any commonality do the dinner guests share?

Alpha Bette Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Alpha Bette discussion questions

“Poignant family scenes, rich character development, and ongoing familial traumas make Jennifer Manocherian's debut novel, Alpha Bette, a compelling read for any student of humanity. Manocherian's depiction of multigenerational entanglements and human foibles is searingly honest while maintaining a strong degree of sweetness and empathy for all the characters. Insightful and empathetic, Alpha Bette is an exquisite book written by an exquisite author.”—Lis Wiehl, New York Times best-selling author

"Against a vibrant New York City backdrop, this playful novel reveals a constellation of quirky characters, all interconnected around an eccentric wealthy matriarch. Blending humor and heart, each character comes alive through their distinctive voices and internal dialogues in the orbit of the dowager. It’s a master class in how lives intersect and will remind readers how seemingly small encounters shape bigger destinies."—Roberta Baskin, award-winning investigative journalist and nonprofit leader

“A deeply moving family drama about love, regret, and hope, Alpha Bette reminds you of your family ties and the choices you might have made that not only changed your life but those of your loved ones.”—Readers' Favorite, 5-star review

“Alpha Bette is an intriguing novel whose compelling cast members are invited to a dinner party that comes to an exciting, unexpected conclusion.”—Foreword Clarion Reviews