1. At what point in Puppy do you begin to realize that Saunders's third person narrator might be speaking like or using the voice of his two main characters- first Marie, then Callie, and so on? How is your initial response and attitude to the characters different than it would be if one or both of these characters actually narrated the story (in the first person) or if the third-person narrator's voice were consistent throughout the story? What are the most distinctive features of each voice, and what do they tell us about the characters?

2. How does each of the subsequent shifts in both focus and voice affect the way you interpret and feel about the characters and their situations? what is the effect of Saunders's choice to end the story with Callie's point of view?

3. What is the effect of the way the narrator refers to real consumer products by using their brand names (Game Boy) an discusses (in some detail) entirely fictional ones like the games "Noble Baker" and "Bra Stuffer"? What do these details contribute to the story, especially in terms of our attitudes toward the various characters and their world (or our own)?