There is a scene in Judith Guest's "Ordinary People" where the teen protagonist, Conrad, and his girlfriend are sitting together, people watching, and Conrad begins to comment on the inner lives of the "ordinary" people that pass by.

I think we've all played that game at one time or another, speculating about what really goes on behind closed doors in those neat suburban homes around us. And I think we can all agree that just because someone looks like they've got it together doesn't mean they do.

This is one of the issues that drives Guest's engaging 1976 novel. "Ordinary People" is the story of a Chicago family struggling to overcome the death of their elder son, Buck. Buck and Conrad were victims of a boating accident - Conrad survived, Buck drowned.

Guest

Deeply depressed and wracked by guilt, Conrad attempts suicide and spends the next eight months in a mental hospital. The book picks up the story shortly after Conrad comes home and begins trying to adjust to a normal life.

Conrad's father, Cal, watches him closely, looking carefully for signs that he's going to be OK - or not. His mother, Beth, well ... she plays a lot of golf. She's probably the least sympathetic character in the novel. She seems completely disinterested in her surviving son and resentful of any time her husband spends thinking about him.

Critics have commented at length on Mary Tyler Moore's performance as Beth in the Academy Award-winning 1980 film, and personally I'm looking forward to getting around to seeing that film and finding out whether she does a good job of capturing Beth's icy personality.

Conrad, ironically, appears to be the most "ordinary" character in the novel. Guest does a really good job of developing his character (for which Timothy Hutton scored a statuette for best supporting actor). Conrad is an earnest, polite and thoughtful kid with a wonderful sense of humor, trying to deal with some very adult issues. He is helped by his therapist, Berger, who treats him like an equal - not a mental patient, not a kid.

Guest's title, "Ordinary People," invites a discussion of definition. Monday Book Talk discussion leader Carol Campbell wonders: "Is it that ordinary people are mostly nice most of the time, that they are not really equipped to handle devastating events in their lives, but that they have inner resources that they can call on when they need them? Or is it that these people are really not ordinary after all?"

Another main theme Campbell plans to discuss at the Book Club's April 4 meeting is how the various characters cope with their grief over Buck's death. Conrad, of course, attempts suicide. But the death of their elder son has serious consequences for the relationship between Cal and Beth also. Cal wonders how this could have happened to their family, and Beth seeks to keep tight control over everything around her.

Which leads to questions: Which of Guest's characters is most sympathetic? Do readers identify with Conrad's struggles? With Cal's bewilderment? Can we understand Beth's distance from her husband and Conrad?

Campbell plans to explore these questions and also focus on a comparison between the book and the film at the Book Club's next meeting.

To contact Regina C. Davis, use e-mail or call 348-7936.