McMillan's fiction should provoke stimulating discussions because it engages themes of relationships and the problems that arise from them, among women, genders, and races.

Waiting to Exhale could readily lend itself to enlightening discussion of the portrayed tug between white and African American cultures. The group might consider how issues of alienation might be resolved. Another good line to pursue is to what extent the novel's thematic elements and characters have a universal appeal.

Discussion groups may find it useful to compare Waiting to Exhale with a novel from an earlier period in African American literature. The particular exploration of themes of feminism and gender relations should prove fruitful.

Groups might read a novel such as Alice Walker's The Color Purple (1982), or Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (1970), for purposes of comparison of concepts and techniques.

1. Men in this novel are known solely through the women's point...