1. Chapter 1 of Clean Sweep opens with our protagonist, Carli Morris, helping to deliver sandwiches to homeless men and women living on the sidewalks of Manhattan. If you were in Carli’s shoes during this overnight mission, how might you have felt when Lucy was found? What might you have done?
2. By the end of chapter 3, we learn more of Carli’s past. Do you think Carli would have reacted differently to Lucy, and to Lila and Terrance, if she had not lost Henry? At this point in the novel, what most drives Carli’s actions: guilt for not having saved Henry, a lingering sense of sadness and loss, a genuinely strong desire to help others, a combination of these, or something else?
3. We first learn in chapter 4 that Outreach is about connecting with people who are living on the sidewalks, in the parks, in other outdoor spaces, or on public transportation. It is about encouraging street homeless to recognize the benefits of accepting help and voluntarily moving into some sort of housing. Moving inside is now prioritized by a number of programs as a critical first step in enabling help for other problems. Imagine spending 48 hours on the streets. How much time might you have to spend traveling to secure meals, water for thirst or for taking medication, bathrooms, showers, dry clothes if it rains or snows, heat, or air conditioning? Where would you stay without shelter? How safe would you feel? How would you feel if people glared at you, spat on you, or talked negatively to you?
4. In Chapter 7, Carli watches a stranger – a homeless woman in blue – for over twenty minutes as the woman inspects her belongings. What does this tell you about Carli and her inability to turn her back? Have you ever noticed or watched someone who is homeless and living on the street or in a park? For how long?
5. In Chapter 8 we meet Mercy. I will let you in on a secret. Mercy was not always Mercy. She was initially named Theresa. An editor pointed out Tessie (Carli’s real name) might likely be a nickname for Theresa. Two characters with the same name would not do. So, Theresa became Mercy. But Mercy almost became Izzy, short for Isabella. Why? The meaning of “mercy”—being associated with compassion or forgiveness based on one’s power to punish or harm—was not the sentiment I wanted attached to this character. Also, the name Izzy seemed well-suited to this character’s strong personality and flamboyant exterior. In the end, however, I set Izzy aside because I like the way “Mercy” sounds. It is soft-sounding, easy to read, and easy for other characters to say in dialogue. It rolls well off the tongue of my internal reading voice. “Izzy” has a harder sound. I feared this would negatively impact the voice of the novel and lend a different feel to the reading experience.
Choosing names for characters is not always easy. Consider the names of the characters in Clean Sweep. Are they memorable? Distinct? Do they need to be? Is a name better if it is not memorable? Are the Clean Sweep character names likable or not? Does any particular name impact the way you see that character?
6. Before reading Clean Sweep, what might you have thought of a homeless person you saw on the sidewalk, a bench, or sleeping in their car or in a subway car? If you came across someone like Wilson—who you first meet in chapter 9—how might you have viewed him if you did not know him or know his story, as Carli comes to know it? Might you have labeled him as a “bum,” drunk, lost soul, victim of bad circumstance? How would his appearance – a man in need of a shower and with clothes coated with food and a bottle held in his hand – influence your thoughts? Might you have felt at all threatened? Indignant? Sad? Concerned? Indifferent? Compassionate? Something else?
7. Chapter 10 introduces the City Sweeps, which move street homeless off sidewalks, ostensibly for the benefit of a neighborhood and for those who are homeless. In Clean Sweep, we see that individual characters living on the streets sometimes prefer to stay put. Is it “right” to move street homeless off the streets? Is it right to allow individuals to live on the streets? Consider the visual results of a Sweep. How different does a city block look with or without desolate beings in sight? Might a homeless person’s presence impact your perception of your surroundings? Could it make you feel a different sense of safety or different sense of cleanliness in your surroundings? Would you feel threatened or turned off? Would it not be noticeable? Or, might it seem normal, and either unchangeable or in no need of being changed?
8. In chapters 13 and 15, Carli confronts denial, not only in herself, but in those on the street as well. Denial slides into Clean Sweep in several other chapters. Denial can be a strong personal defense mechanism. It comes part and parcel with a number of mental health challenges and addictions. Denial can be a double-edged sword, providing temporary respite, but also prohibiting steps to longer-term solutions. What characters in Clean Sweep employ denial, knowingly or not, to help with their situations, and how does each of them manifest their denial? How difficult do you think it is to break through the walls of denial? Does the break have to come from within?
9. Compassion and human connection are vital elements of Clean Sweep. Both are seen as strengths and saving forces, but, as we see in Carli’s story, compassion and connection can have associated vulnerabilities. Can a person have true compassion or human connection without opening one’s heart and allowing oneself to be vulnerable?
10. While writing Clean Sweep, one of my biggest challenges was revealing behavior and conversation indicative of Grant’s mental health prior to letting readers in on his condition, as later diagnosed. In fact, I started dropping hints about Grant beginning in chapter 4. When did you first notice conversation or action on his part that raised a red flag for you? How did you react? Did you shrug and ignore it? Did you believe I had simply written something in a strange manner? Did you feel he needed help?
Fiction often requires readers to suspend disbelief, but was Grant’s action of moving street homeless into an atrium an act you found difficult to accept? Were you enthusiastically pulled along by his excitement and magnetism? Or did you have doubts? It seems Carli struggled with both excitement and doubt. How did you react when, in chapter 15, Grant exclaimed, “Cruise wear is out”? Did you find his statement funny, due to its oddity? Did you think, perhaps, Grant is getting a bit wacky? Did it come to mind that he might be struggling with a chemical imbalance and mental health issue? Chemical imbalances known to cause mental illness can go unnoticed for periods of time, even by family members and others closest to individuals with these imbalances. In retrospect, these signs often seem more obvious. If you were Carli, at what point would you have said, “Hey, something is off”? What does her taking action to help say about her character?
11. For each person who experiences chemical imbalance and/or addiction, there are usually several more people – family members or friends – who share the associated struggle of seeing unusual actions, thoughts, and pain in someone they love, and in being unable to singly create desired changes. Grant’s condition allows us to see this very personal impact on Carli. Would Clean Sweep have resonated with you in the same way if we had not been privy to Carli’s despair and heartbreak resulting from this personal connection? As a society, we have come a long way in reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues and addictions. Have we come far enough? Do we do enough to make help available to those in need?
12. A novel is a series of scenes. Together, they create a progression of actions, both external and internal to characters. Some scenes are more conversation-oriented, others are more action- or event-oriented, and still others are more setting-rich, reaching readers through descriptions of “place.” Aside from the overarching messages of Clean Sweep, do any particular scenes stick in your mind more than others? If so, why are they memorable? Does it have to do with any of the following specifically: Setting? Conversation? Action? Language? A particular phrase? A specific thought? An emotional impact the scene has on a character or on you? Another reason?
13. Art is an important thread running through Clean Sweep. It is part of what defines Carli’s life, and it becomes a defining element of Carli’s contribution to those she most wants to save. Did you find the art scenes: interesting in and of themselves? Or as a forewarning of sorts? As symbols of Carli’s state of being? Or something altogether different? What do you feel about the role of art in Clean Sweep?
14. How do you feel about Grant’s death? Was it necessary? Did you want a different outcome? How does it add to the story or tie into Carli’s life-affirmative transformation? How does it draw you into the story told by Clean Sweep, or turn you away, hoping to change the outcome?
15. The subtitle for Clean Sweep is, “A Novel.” It is simple, straight forward, and standard protocol for literary fiction. When all was said and done, I followed protocol, but I seriously considered taking a risk, and adding more specific information to the subtitle. I wanted potential readers to know more about the essence of this story when they read the cover. Some of the alternate subtitles I considered were, “A Novel of Hope,” “A Novel of Newfound Hope,” “A Novel of Human Connection and Hope,” “A Novel of Conviction,” “A Novel of Faith and Conviction,” “A Novel of Compassion,” “A Novel of Devastation and Hope,” “A Novel of Trust,” and, “A Novel of Faith.” Should I have taken the risk? What would you have thought of a more descriptive subtitle? Would you have chosen any of the above or something else altogether? Please, let me know your thoughts. I am curious!
16. Who are your two favorite characters? Or, with which two characters did you feel the strongest connection? Why?
17. Is Clean Sweep a story about Carli, or men and women living on city sidewalks, or, perhaps, is it about a larger societal issue of mental health issues, poverty, and homelessness? What do you think?
18. What would you change about this novel? Or any of the characters?
19. The final chapter of Clean Sweep gives details of Grant and Carli’s art exhibit, in which characters we have met on the streets are depicted before, during, and after their street life. We considered earlier the role of art in Carli’s life and in the novel. Let’s now consider a different aspect of art: how much does art merely reflect the world, and our impressions of the world, and how much can it influence change in the world? Do you believe an art exhibit such as Carli’s could prompt any types of change in a real-life situation? What impact would this exhibit have on you?
20. Are you happy with, or satisfied by, Carli’s final transformation and her drive to help through her art? Does it seem appropriate?
21. As Carli notes in her art exhibit in Clean Sweep, “No one says, ‘When I grow up, I want to live in a box on a city sidewalk.’” Will you remember this if you happen to see someone who is street homeless? Will you remember they once had a very different past? Did reading Clean Sweep change your views of someone you might see on the streets, even though the exhibit and the characters in this story are fictionalized?
A note. And one more question.
Several readers of early drafts of Clean Sweep were Manhattan residents, and gave this feedback: “I expected to find Wilson and Cedric and the other street homeless characters of Clean Sweep on the streets when I walked out of my apartment. I also expected, and wanted, to see Carli’s art exhibit.” How real did the characters and situations of Clean Sweep become to you?
Share your thoughts on Clean Sweep. Please, send an email my way. Eblee.author@gmail.com
Reviews Are Always Appreciated!
Reviews help others decide if Clean Sweep might be a book they would like to read. I would like to have as many interested readers enjoy Clean Sweep as possible.
If you have a minute, would you kindly consider leaving a review of Clean Sweep on my Amazon Author’s page, your Goodreads page, or social media posts, where other readers might find it and learn your thoughts? A few lines or phrases will do just fine if you are pressed for time.
I am happy you found Clean Sweep. I hope you enjoyed it.
Best,
E. B. Lee