It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, December 10th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info
Blog, blog, blog: Be sure to bookmark our book blog which has information about upcoming meeting dates and the books we've chosen: http://fairfaxbookgroup.blogspot.com/
Book Swap: If you’d like, please feel free to bring a wrapped book (it MUST be used) to exchange with others at our meeting.
Upcoming book selections:
Thursday, January 14th – we’ll discuss The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society By Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
Winding up her book tour promoting her collection of lighthearted wartime newspaper columns, Juliet Ashton casts about for a more serious project. Opportunity comes in the form of a letter she receives from Mr. Dawsey Adams, who happens to possess a book that Julia once owned. Adams is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society-no ordinary book club. Rather, it was formed as a ruse and became a way for people to get together without raising the suspicions of Guernsey's Nazi occupiers. Written in the form of letters (a lost art), this novel by an aunt-and-niece team has loads of charm.
Thursday, February 11th – we’ll discuss Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
When the conflict between the natives and the invading soldiers erupts on an unnamed tropical island in the early 1990s, 13-year-old Matilda and her mother, Dolores, are unified with the rest of their village in their efforts for survival. Amid the chaos, Mr. Watts, the only white local, offers to fill in as the children's schoolteacher and teaches from Dickens's Great Expectations. The precocious Matilda, who forms a strong attachment to the novel's hero, Pip, discovers independent thought. Jones's prose is faultless, and the story is innovative.
Thursday, March 11th – we’ll discuss The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker
Baker's brilliant debut is infused with vibrant language and quirky, original characters. Narrator Truly Plaice is unusually large and considered ugly. Growing up in rural Aberdeen in upstate New York in the 1950s, Truly finds shelter with the Dyersons, hard-luck people living on a farm at the outskirts of town. There, Truly and best friend Amelia Dyerson do their best to grow up. This book is both a work of literature and an easy read. Truly may struggle for love in the novel, but she will find no such trouble among readers; she is an unforgettable heroine with a story that begs to be read and read again.
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Into the Beautiful North Nov. 12th
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, November 12th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Our December 10th book selection is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH by Luis Alberto Urrea
1. Into the Beautiful North tells the exceptional story of a small group’s successful mission to save their village in its bleakest hour. What are some of the other themes that Luis Alberto Urrea unpacks along the way?
2. Language and dialect play an integral role in the novel’s style. Spanish words and phonetic spellings are laced throughout, and Spanglish and slang are used on both sides of the border. What does Urrea achieve by mixing language in this way? What does it say about the ability of language to bridge --- or not to bridge --- cultural gaps?
3. Into the Beautiful North is divided into two parts—Sur and Norte. References to American pop culture abound in the first half as Nayeli and her friends speak of life across the border with unwavering certainty. Where do their ideas of America come from? How does the reality of their time in the U.S. compare to their initial ideas of it? Are they surprised or disappointed?
4. Nayeli tells García-García, “Perhaps it is time for a new kind of femininity?” What does she mean? Given the homage to The Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai in the novel, how has Urrea played with gender stereotypes?
5. Into the Beautiful North examines physical and psychological borders. Urrea repeatedly shows that while the physical borders can be crossed, some that are culturally defined appear unbridgeable. What are those culturally defined differences, and do you think it’s possible to eradicate such invisible borders?
6. After traveling thousands of miles in search of her father, Nayeli is unable to confront him. In your opinion, does she make the right decision to heed his words at this time—“all things must pass”—or should she have approached him?
7. What do you make of the overwhelming turnout produced by Aunt Irma’s interviews? Why do so many men want to return to Mexico, and does this strike you as ironic?
8. Nayeli and her friends are inspired by the movie The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the Japanese film Seven Samurai. Both films climax with the showdown between good guys and bad guys, but Urrea ends his novel before such a clash. Why do you think he did so?
9. Were you surprised to find the Mexican characters so knowledgeable about American pop culture? If you were surprised, did it change how you think about Mexico?
10. The road travelled by immigrants intent on sneaking across the border is perilous. Were you surprised by how dangerous it was for immigrants in Mexico before they crossed the border?
11. Where did your family emigrate from? Did you recognize any parallels between your family stories and this one?
When? Thursday, November 12th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea
Our December 10th book selection is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH by Luis Alberto Urrea
1. Into the Beautiful North tells the exceptional story of a small group’s successful mission to save their village in its bleakest hour. What are some of the other themes that Luis Alberto Urrea unpacks along the way?
2. Language and dialect play an integral role in the novel’s style. Spanish words and phonetic spellings are laced throughout, and Spanglish and slang are used on both sides of the border. What does Urrea achieve by mixing language in this way? What does it say about the ability of language to bridge --- or not to bridge --- cultural gaps?
3. Into the Beautiful North is divided into two parts—Sur and Norte. References to American pop culture abound in the first half as Nayeli and her friends speak of life across the border with unwavering certainty. Where do their ideas of America come from? How does the reality of their time in the U.S. compare to their initial ideas of it? Are they surprised or disappointed?
4. Nayeli tells García-García, “Perhaps it is time for a new kind of femininity?” What does she mean? Given the homage to The Magnificent Seven and Seven Samurai in the novel, how has Urrea played with gender stereotypes?
5. Into the Beautiful North examines physical and psychological borders. Urrea repeatedly shows that while the physical borders can be crossed, some that are culturally defined appear unbridgeable. What are those culturally defined differences, and do you think it’s possible to eradicate such invisible borders?
6. After traveling thousands of miles in search of her father, Nayeli is unable to confront him. In your opinion, does she make the right decision to heed his words at this time—“all things must pass”—or should she have approached him?
7. What do you make of the overwhelming turnout produced by Aunt Irma’s interviews? Why do so many men want to return to Mexico, and does this strike you as ironic?
8. Nayeli and her friends are inspired by the movie The Magnificent Seven, a remake of the Japanese film Seven Samurai. Both films climax with the showdown between good guys and bad guys, but Urrea ends his novel before such a clash. Why do you think he did so?
9. Were you surprised to find the Mexican characters so knowledgeable about American pop culture? If you were surprised, did it change how you think about Mexico?
10. The road travelled by immigrants intent on sneaking across the border is perilous. Were you surprised by how dangerous it was for immigrants in Mexico before they crossed the border?
11. Where did your family emigrate from? Did you recognize any parallels between your family stories and this one?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The Song is You October 2009
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, October 8th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Song Is You by Arthur Phillips
check out these links for more background info
Do you have a soundtrack of your life? These folks do…
A playlist by Arthur Phillips
The soundtrack of my life
Favorite songs/personal soundtrack
make your own soundtrack
Do you have an iPod or mp3 player? I love my Zune and listen to it daily – podcasts more than music, though. Read how the iPod changed these lives:
How the ipod changed my life
iPod, Therefore I Am
iPod and the knowledge gap
Get even more info with BookMovement.com: Sign up with BookMovement.com for the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group and get book reviews and reminders.
Our November 12th book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.
Our December 10th book selection is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Song is You by Arthur Phillips
1. Julian is suffering something of a mid-life crisis. He looks back at the life he intended to live and sees the life he has created – even though he is seemingly successful in his field. Is such an experience inevitably disappointing? Have you experienced disappointment in your adult life?
2. Julian’s life is framed by the music he listens to on his iPod. What is the role of music in modern life? In your life?
3. Do you have a soundtrack of your life?
4. Is Julian an unlikeable protagonist? Is it possible to sympathize with an unlikeable protagonist? Can you give an example?
5. Is Julian’s behavior towards Cait explainable? Does he have Cait’s best interests at heart or is he not much more than a stalker?
6. Did you think the characters and their problems/decisions/relationships were believable or realistic? Was the author trying to make them realistic, and why did he fail or succeed? Were the characters drawn realistically? Which character could you relate to best and why? Talk about the secondary characters. Were they important to the story? Did any stand out for you?
7. A reviewer on SecondSupper.com described the book as a romantic anti-romance. Would you agree?
8. What is the central conflict of the plot? Is the conflict internal to the character (a psychological conflict)? Or is it external, having to do with character vs. character? Character vs. society? Character vs. nature?
9. What central ideas might the author be exploring in the novel's themes? Consider ideas about the nature of love, the requirements of goodness, the meaning of justice, the burden of the past...basic human issues that are at stake in the book.
10. Consider the ending. Did you expect it or were you surprised? Was it forced? Was it neatly wrapped up? Or was it unresolved, ending on an ambiguous note?
11. Overall—how did you experience the book while reading it? Were you immediately drawn into the story—or did it take a while? Did the book intrigue, amuse, disturb, alienate, or irritate you?
When? Thursday, October 8th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Song Is You by Arthur Phillips
check out these links for more background info
Do you have a soundtrack of your life? These folks do…
A playlist by Arthur Phillips
The soundtrack of my life
Favorite songs/personal soundtrack
make your own soundtrack
Do you have an iPod or mp3 player? I love my Zune and listen to it daily – podcasts more than music, though. Read how the iPod changed these lives:
How the ipod changed my life
iPod, Therefore I Am
iPod and the knowledge gap
Get even more info with BookMovement.com: Sign up with BookMovement.com for the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group and get book reviews and reminders.
Our November 12th book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.
Our December 10th book selection is The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Song is You by Arthur Phillips
1. Julian is suffering something of a mid-life crisis. He looks back at the life he intended to live and sees the life he has created – even though he is seemingly successful in his field. Is such an experience inevitably disappointing? Have you experienced disappointment in your adult life?
2. Julian’s life is framed by the music he listens to on his iPod. What is the role of music in modern life? In your life?
3. Do you have a soundtrack of your life?
4. Is Julian an unlikeable protagonist? Is it possible to sympathize with an unlikeable protagonist? Can you give an example?
5. Is Julian’s behavior towards Cait explainable? Does he have Cait’s best interests at heart or is he not much more than a stalker?
6. Did you think the characters and their problems/decisions/relationships were believable or realistic? Was the author trying to make them realistic, and why did he fail or succeed? Were the characters drawn realistically? Which character could you relate to best and why? Talk about the secondary characters. Were they important to the story? Did any stand out for you?
7. A reviewer on SecondSupper.com described the book as a romantic anti-romance. Would you agree?
8. What is the central conflict of the plot? Is the conflict internal to the character (a psychological conflict)? Or is it external, having to do with character vs. character? Character vs. society? Character vs. nature?
9. What central ideas might the author be exploring in the novel's themes? Consider ideas about the nature of love, the requirements of goodness, the meaning of justice, the burden of the past...basic human issues that are at stake in the book.
10. Consider the ending. Did you expect it or were you surprised? Was it forced? Was it neatly wrapped up? Or was it unresolved, ending on an ambiguous note?
11. Overall—how did you experience the book while reading it? Were you immediately drawn into the story—or did it take a while? Did the book intrigue, amuse, disturb, alienate, or irritate you?
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Lace Reader
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, September 10th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
Border’s on-line book club discusses The Lace Reader with author
Original Essay by Brunonia Barry – The Hero’s Journey for Women
Summary of the steps of the Hero’s Journey
Youtube trailer for the book (very dramatic – is this the future of book marketing?)
Lengthy interview with Brunonia Barry
Audio Interview with Barry
Our October 8th book selection is The Song is You by Arthur Phillips.
Our November 12th book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (from the publisher)
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
1. For centuries, women have used lace as an adornment for their clothes and as a decoration for their homes. Just a small piece of lace on a sleeve could evoke a sense of luxury, beauty, and elegance. How does your family use lace today? Is it used every day or only on special occasions?
2. Have any pieces of lace been passed down to you or someone else in your family? If so, what feelings do you associate with these heirloom pieces of lace?
3. The author states that The Lace Reader is, at its core, about perception vs. reality. How does Rafferty's perception of Towner color his judgment of what she says and does? What about Rafferty's perception of Cal and his actions?
4. At the very start of The Lace Reader, Towner Whitney, the protagonist, tells the reader that she's a liar and that she's crazy. By the end of the book do you agree with her?
5. Eva reveals that she speaks in clichés so that her words do not influence the choices made by the recipients of her lace reading sessions. Do you think that's possible? Can a cliché be so over used that it loses its original meaning?
6. When May comments on the relationship between Rafferty and Towner, she states that they are too alike and predicts that "You won't just break apart. You'll send each other flying." Did you agree with that when you read it? And if so, in what ways are Towner and Rafferty alike?
7. The handmade lace industry of Ipswich quickly vanished when lace-making machines were introduced. At that same moment, the economic freedom of the women making the handmade lace also evaporated. Why do you think that these women didn't update their business, buy the machines, and own a significant portion of the new lace-making industry?
8. Do you think that May's revival of the craft of handmade lace with the abused women on Yellow Dog Island is purely symbolic or could it be, in some way, very practical?
9. What role does religion play in the novel? Is there a difference between spirituality and religion? Between faith and blind faith?
10. Towner has a special bond with the dogs of Yellow Dog Island—do you agree that people and animals can relate to each other in extraordinary ways?
11. How do the excerpts from The Lace Reader's Guide and Towner's journal function in the novel? Does the written word carry more truth than the spoken? Did you use the clues in the Guide to help you understand the rest of the book?
12. How much does family history influence who a person becomes? Do you believe that certain traits or talents are genetic and can be inherited?
13. Is it possible that twins share a unique bond? How does being a twin affect Towner?
14. Can geography influence personality? For instance, May lives on an island, does this say something about her? What does living in Marin say about you?
15. If you could learn to read lace and see things about your future, would you?
When? Thursday, September 10th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
Border’s on-line book club discusses The Lace Reader with author
Original Essay by Brunonia Barry – The Hero’s Journey for Women
Summary of the steps of the Hero’s Journey
Youtube trailer for the book (very dramatic – is this the future of book marketing?)
Lengthy interview with Brunonia Barry
Audio Interview with Barry
Our October 8th book selection is The Song is You by Arthur Phillips.
Our November 12th book selection is Into the Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (from the publisher)
The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
1. For centuries, women have used lace as an adornment for their clothes and as a decoration for their homes. Just a small piece of lace on a sleeve could evoke a sense of luxury, beauty, and elegance. How does your family use lace today? Is it used every day or only on special occasions?
2. Have any pieces of lace been passed down to you or someone else in your family? If so, what feelings do you associate with these heirloom pieces of lace?
3. The author states that The Lace Reader is, at its core, about perception vs. reality. How does Rafferty's perception of Towner color his judgment of what she says and does? What about Rafferty's perception of Cal and his actions?
4. At the very start of The Lace Reader, Towner Whitney, the protagonist, tells the reader that she's a liar and that she's crazy. By the end of the book do you agree with her?
5. Eva reveals that she speaks in clichés so that her words do not influence the choices made by the recipients of her lace reading sessions. Do you think that's possible? Can a cliché be so over used that it loses its original meaning?
6. When May comments on the relationship between Rafferty and Towner, she states that they are too alike and predicts that "You won't just break apart. You'll send each other flying." Did you agree with that when you read it? And if so, in what ways are Towner and Rafferty alike?
7. The handmade lace industry of Ipswich quickly vanished when lace-making machines were introduced. At that same moment, the economic freedom of the women making the handmade lace also evaporated. Why do you think that these women didn't update their business, buy the machines, and own a significant portion of the new lace-making industry?
8. Do you think that May's revival of the craft of handmade lace with the abused women on Yellow Dog Island is purely symbolic or could it be, in some way, very practical?
9. What role does religion play in the novel? Is there a difference between spirituality and religion? Between faith and blind faith?
10. Towner has a special bond with the dogs of Yellow Dog Island—do you agree that people and animals can relate to each other in extraordinary ways?
11. How do the excerpts from The Lace Reader's Guide and Towner's journal function in the novel? Does the written word carry more truth than the spoken? Did you use the clues in the Guide to help you understand the rest of the book?
12. How much does family history influence who a person becomes? Do you believe that certain traits or talents are genetic and can be inherited?
13. Is it possible that twins share a unique bond? How does being a twin affect Towner?
14. Can geography influence personality? For instance, May lives on an island, does this say something about her? What does living in Marin say about you?
15. If you could learn to read lace and see things about your future, would you?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Lost City of Z discussion
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, August 13th at 7 p.m.
What Book? The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
(Please let me know if you can join us.)
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
The Hunt for Colonel Fawcett
Bio of Percy Fawcett and his expeditions
Book Review from The Nation
Video of The Lost Cities of the Amazon on National Geographic
Scientific American slideshow with pics of Heckenberg’s archeology findings -
Dissent in the Royal Geographic Society?
Was Percy Fawcett the last of his kind? Read this 2007 Obit of Gene Savoy
Coming Up Next:
Our next book for Thursday, September 10th is The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Our following book for Thursday, October 8th is The Song is You by Arthur Phillips.
Free books! Our group won 10 copies of The Song is You and I’ll be handing them out to anyone who is interested at our meeting this week.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
When? Thursday, August 13th at 7 p.m.
What Book? The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
(Please let me know if you can join us.)
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
The Hunt for Colonel Fawcett
Bio of Percy Fawcett and his expeditions
Book Review from The Nation
Video of The Lost Cities of the Amazon on National Geographic
Scientific American slideshow with pics of Heckenberg’s archeology findings -
Dissent in the Royal Geographic Society?
Was Percy Fawcett the last of his kind? Read this 2007 Obit of Gene Savoy
Coming Up Next:
Our next book for Thursday, September 10th is The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
Our following book for Thursday, October 8th is The Song is You by Arthur Phillips.
Free books! Our group won 10 copies of The Song is You and I’ll be handing them out to anyone who is interested at our meeting this week.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Monday, July 13, 2009
August and September books
Read with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
Thursday, August 13th : The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
Our next book selection is The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann which we’ll discuss on Thursday, August 13th. There are holds on the book at the library so be sure to reserve your copy soon!
Read more about The Lost City of Z (with maps and photos) at the author’s website.
Thursday, September 10th : The Lace Reader
On Thursday, September 10th, we’ll discuss The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. This is a great summer read - I think you’ll enjoy it.
Brunonia Barry also has an author website with lots of good, fun information.
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Thursday, August 13th : The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
Our next book selection is The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann which we’ll discuss on Thursday, August 13th. There are holds on the book at the library so be sure to reserve your copy soon!
Read more about The Lost City of Z (with maps and photos) at the author’s website.
Thursday, September 10th : The Lace Reader
On Thursday, September 10th, we’ll discuss The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. This is a great summer read - I think you’ll enjoy it.
Brunonia Barry also has an author website with lots of good, fun information.
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Emperor's Children - July 2009
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, July 9th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info
Rothko Prints
Natasha and Pierre in War and Peace
Our next book selection is The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann which we’ll discuss on Thursday, August 13th. There are holds on the book at the library so be sure to reserve your copy soon!
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
1. At the novel’s onset, most of the characters are outside New York. Why might Messud have chosen to begin in this manner? At what other points in the book do the characters leave the city, and with what results?
2. Which of the novel’s characters strikes you as its moral center? Is it Bootie, who comes to New York with such high ideals and easily rankled feelings? Is it Danielle, who has lived there long enough to feel at home but who still sees its pretensions and absurdities? With which of these characters is the reader meant to identify? Whose judgments seem the most reliable? And what flaws or blind spots afflict them?
3. Julius is obsessed with the characters of Pierre and Natasha from War and Peace, longing to be the sparkling Natasha but fearing he’s really more like the brooding, self-conscious Pierre. Bootie is constantly quoting Emerson. Which of the other characters has an emblematic book, and what role do those books play in their lives, in the way they see the world, and, of course, the way they see themselves? Is Julius anything like Pierre or Natasha? Does Bootie really live up to Emerson’s criterion of genius? At what points do they similarly misread other characters?
4. Almost everybody in The Emperor’s Children envies, and is intimidated by, somebody else. Julius, for instance, is in awe of Marina’s self-confidence and envious of her sense of entitlement. Marina is cowed by her father. Poor Bootie is a virtual pressure cooker of indiscriminate awe and resentment. What do Messud’s characters feel insecure about? Is there anyone in the book who seems truly comfortable with him or herself or any relationship that seems to be conducted by equals? Would you say that awe and envy are this novel’s dominant emotions?
5. Marina, we learn, frequently accompanies Murray to public functions, and is sometimes mistaken for his “trophy wife” [p. 40]. Does their relationship strike you as incestuous [p. 121]? Compare Marina’s unfolding relationship with Ludovic to her bond with her father. Do you think that Ludovic—incidentally, the only major character who is seen entirely from the outside—really loves Marina or is merely using her, and if so for what purpose?
6. Just as Marina has symbolically taken over her mother’s role, “Danielle had the peculiar sensation of having usurped her friend’s role in the Thwaite family, and more than that, of having usurped it at some moment in the distant past, a decade or more ago: she felt like a teenager . . and she was suddenly, powerfully aware of the profound oddity of Marina’s present life, a life arrested at, or at least returned to, childhood” [p. 46]. How many of the other characters seem similarly suspended? Which of them seems like a full-grown adult, and what does it mean to be an adult in the scheme of this novel? If Danielle has indeed usurped Marina’s place, what is the significance of her affair with Marina’s father? Which of the other characters takes on another character’s role, and for what reasons?
7. When pressed to take a job, Marina confesses, “I worry that that will make me ordinary, like everybody else” [p. 74]. To what extent are other characters possessed by the same fear, and how do they defend themselves against it? Do they have a common idea of what constitutes ordinariness? Can ordinariness even exist in a social world in which everyone is constantly, feverishly striving to be unique? Is it possible that Marina is just lazy and prevaricating in her charming way?
8. With his high-flown ambitions, his indolence, and his appalling sense of hygiene, Bootie initially seems like a comic character. But in the course of the novel Messud’s portrait of him darkens until he comes to seem either sinister or tragic—perhaps both. How does she accomplish this? Which other characters does she gradually reveal in a different light? Compare Messud’s shifting portrayal of Bootie to her handling of Julius and Danielle. In what ways do they too evade or defy the reader’s initial expectations about them?
9. On similar lines, both Ludovic and Bootie denounce Murray as a fraud while Bootie in particular prides himself on his sincerity. But is such sincerity a good thing? What other characters embrace that virtue, and with what results? Compare Bootie’s frank literary assessment of his uncle with Murray’s frank critique of his daughter’s manuscript, or his even franker response to Bootie’s essay. When in this novel does honesty turn out to be a pretext for something else? And when do subterfuge and deception turn out to be acts of kindness?
10. Murray feels that his mother’s efforts at improving him succeeded only in “turning her boy into someone, something, she couldn’t understand”. By contrast, he thinks, Marina has been paralyzed by the very expansiveness of her upbringing. What does this novel have to say about parents and children? Which of the Emperor’s children has proved a disappointment? Does any parent in this novel (Murray, Annabel, Judy, Randy) truly understand his or her offspring? And is it good for said offspring to be understood?
11. Some of Messud’s characters begin the novel in a state of happiness and others attain it, but nearly all of them see their happiness threatened or even shattered. How does this come about? Which of them is the victim of outside forces and which is responsible for his or her fall? How would you describe this novel’s vision of happiness? Considering that the typical comedy has a happy (or happy-ish) ending, what do you make of the fact that so many of Messud’s characters end up bereft or disappointed?
12. Among this novel’s many characters, one has to include the character of New York City. How does Messud bring the city to life? Compare Murray’s New York with that of Marina, Danielle, Bootie, and Julius. What is it that draws the characters to prove themselves in New York?
13. What role do the events of September 11, 2001, play in The Emperor’s Children? Are there other points when history—or reality—impinges on the safe and mostly privileged world its characters inhabit? What is the significance of Annabel Thwaite’s client DeVaughn or results of Julius and David’s affair? Does the ending make sense when compared with the rest of the novel?
14. Ludovic repeatedly declares that he wants to make a revolution with his magazine The Monitor, but what is the magazine supposed to be about? Lest we think that The Emperor’s Children is merely a satire of the New York media, what other highly touted ideas in this novel turn out to be light on substance, and what does this suggest about the value of ideas at this historical moment?
15. In addition to reading, many of Messud’s people are also engaged in writing: Marina has her book-in-progress and Murray has his (which he’s thinking of calling How to Live), and Bootie has his essay on Murray (and Murray’s book). What is their relationship to their writing? What do they hope to achieve through it? How do other characters respond to it? Does Messud give us any indication as to which of these characters’ work is good (or genuine) and which is failed or fraudulent?
16. Messud introduces her characters through their environments: the womblike bathroom where Bootie soaks in hot water and serious literature; the Thwaites’ resplendent Central Park West apartment; and Danielle’s pristine, aesthetically climate-controlled studio. What do these spaces tell us about their occupants? Why might the author have used this rather old-fashioned way of ushering us into a novel set in 2001? Where else does she employ the techniques of an earlier age of literature?
When? Thursday, July 9th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info
Rothko Prints
Natasha and Pierre in War and Peace
Our next book selection is The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann which we’ll discuss on Thursday, August 13th. There are holds on the book at the library so be sure to reserve your copy soon!
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
1. At the novel’s onset, most of the characters are outside New York. Why might Messud have chosen to begin in this manner? At what other points in the book do the characters leave the city, and with what results?
2. Which of the novel’s characters strikes you as its moral center? Is it Bootie, who comes to New York with such high ideals and easily rankled feelings? Is it Danielle, who has lived there long enough to feel at home but who still sees its pretensions and absurdities? With which of these characters is the reader meant to identify? Whose judgments seem the most reliable? And what flaws or blind spots afflict them?
3. Julius is obsessed with the characters of Pierre and Natasha from War and Peace, longing to be the sparkling Natasha but fearing he’s really more like the brooding, self-conscious Pierre. Bootie is constantly quoting Emerson. Which of the other characters has an emblematic book, and what role do those books play in their lives, in the way they see the world, and, of course, the way they see themselves? Is Julius anything like Pierre or Natasha? Does Bootie really live up to Emerson’s criterion of genius? At what points do they similarly misread other characters?
4. Almost everybody in The Emperor’s Children envies, and is intimidated by, somebody else. Julius, for instance, is in awe of Marina’s self-confidence and envious of her sense of entitlement. Marina is cowed by her father. Poor Bootie is a virtual pressure cooker of indiscriminate awe and resentment. What do Messud’s characters feel insecure about? Is there anyone in the book who seems truly comfortable with him or herself or any relationship that seems to be conducted by equals? Would you say that awe and envy are this novel’s dominant emotions?
5. Marina, we learn, frequently accompanies Murray to public functions, and is sometimes mistaken for his “trophy wife” [p. 40]. Does their relationship strike you as incestuous [p. 121]? Compare Marina’s unfolding relationship with Ludovic to her bond with her father. Do you think that Ludovic—incidentally, the only major character who is seen entirely from the outside—really loves Marina or is merely using her, and if so for what purpose?
6. Just as Marina has symbolically taken over her mother’s role, “Danielle had the peculiar sensation of having usurped her friend’s role in the Thwaite family, and more than that, of having usurped it at some moment in the distant past, a decade or more ago: she felt like a teenager . . and she was suddenly, powerfully aware of the profound oddity of Marina’s present life, a life arrested at, or at least returned to, childhood” [p. 46]. How many of the other characters seem similarly suspended? Which of them seems like a full-grown adult, and what does it mean to be an adult in the scheme of this novel? If Danielle has indeed usurped Marina’s place, what is the significance of her affair with Marina’s father? Which of the other characters takes on another character’s role, and for what reasons?
7. When pressed to take a job, Marina confesses, “I worry that that will make me ordinary, like everybody else” [p. 74]. To what extent are other characters possessed by the same fear, and how do they defend themselves against it? Do they have a common idea of what constitutes ordinariness? Can ordinariness even exist in a social world in which everyone is constantly, feverishly striving to be unique? Is it possible that Marina is just lazy and prevaricating in her charming way?
8. With his high-flown ambitions, his indolence, and his appalling sense of hygiene, Bootie initially seems like a comic character. But in the course of the novel Messud’s portrait of him darkens until he comes to seem either sinister or tragic—perhaps both. How does she accomplish this? Which other characters does she gradually reveal in a different light? Compare Messud’s shifting portrayal of Bootie to her handling of Julius and Danielle. In what ways do they too evade or defy the reader’s initial expectations about them?
9. On similar lines, both Ludovic and Bootie denounce Murray as a fraud while Bootie in particular prides himself on his sincerity. But is such sincerity a good thing? What other characters embrace that virtue, and with what results? Compare Bootie’s frank literary assessment of his uncle with Murray’s frank critique of his daughter’s manuscript, or his even franker response to Bootie’s essay. When in this novel does honesty turn out to be a pretext for something else? And when do subterfuge and deception turn out to be acts of kindness?
10. Murray feels that his mother’s efforts at improving him succeeded only in “turning her boy into someone, something, she couldn’t understand”. By contrast, he thinks, Marina has been paralyzed by the very expansiveness of her upbringing. What does this novel have to say about parents and children? Which of the Emperor’s children has proved a disappointment? Does any parent in this novel (Murray, Annabel, Judy, Randy) truly understand his or her offspring? And is it good for said offspring to be understood?
11. Some of Messud’s characters begin the novel in a state of happiness and others attain it, but nearly all of them see their happiness threatened or even shattered. How does this come about? Which of them is the victim of outside forces and which is responsible for his or her fall? How would you describe this novel’s vision of happiness? Considering that the typical comedy has a happy (or happy-ish) ending, what do you make of the fact that so many of Messud’s characters end up bereft or disappointed?
12. Among this novel’s many characters, one has to include the character of New York City. How does Messud bring the city to life? Compare Murray’s New York with that of Marina, Danielle, Bootie, and Julius. What is it that draws the characters to prove themselves in New York?
13. What role do the events of September 11, 2001, play in The Emperor’s Children? Are there other points when history—or reality—impinges on the safe and mostly privileged world its characters inhabit? What is the significance of Annabel Thwaite’s client DeVaughn or results of Julius and David’s affair? Does the ending make sense when compared with the rest of the novel?
14. Ludovic repeatedly declares that he wants to make a revolution with his magazine The Monitor, but what is the magazine supposed to be about? Lest we think that The Emperor’s Children is merely a satire of the New York media, what other highly touted ideas in this novel turn out to be light on substance, and what does this suggest about the value of ideas at this historical moment?
15. In addition to reading, many of Messud’s people are also engaged in writing: Marina has her book-in-progress and Murray has his (which he’s thinking of calling How to Live), and Bootie has his essay on Murray (and Murray’s book). What is their relationship to their writing? What do they hope to achieve through it? How do other characters respond to it? Does Messud give us any indication as to which of these characters’ work is good (or genuine) and which is failed or fraudulent?
16. Messud introduces her characters through their environments: the womblike bathroom where Bootie soaks in hot water and serious literature; the Thwaites’ resplendent Central Park West apartment; and Danielle’s pristine, aesthetically climate-controlled studio. What do these spaces tell us about their occupants? Why might the author have used this rather old-fashioned way of ushering us into a novel set in 2001? Where else does she employ the techniques of an earlier age of literature?
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
To Kill A Mockingbird
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, June 4th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
Historical background
Reconstructing Atticus Finch
Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill A Mockingbird:
Growing up white in the 1930’s South
Growing up black in 1930’s Alabama
Photos of 1930’s racial discrimination signs
On Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
"Beautiful, Ivy League–educated, and the daughter of a renowned journalist, Marina Thwaite lives in New York City along with two close friends from Brown. All three are just barely 30 and making their way into adulthood. The group orbits around the post September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement. Messud’s comedy of manners is extremely well written and features characters that come alive. This wonderful read is an insightful look at our time and the decisions people make."
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Discussion Questions
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1. How do Scout, Jem, and Dill characterize Boo Radley at the beginning of the book? In what way did Boo's past history of violence foreshadow his method of protecting Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell? Does this repetition of aggression make him more or less of a sympathetic character?
2. In Scout's account of her childhood, her father Atticus reigns supreme. How would you characterize his abilities as a single parent? How would you describe his treatment of Calpurnia and Tom Robinson vis a vis his treatment of his white neighbors and colleagues? How would you typify his views on race and class in the larger context of his community and his peers?
3. The title of Lee's book is alluded to when Atticus gives his children air rifles and tells them that they can shoot all the bluejays they want, but "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." At the end of the novel, Scout likens the "sin" of naming Boo as Bob Ewell's killer to "shootin' a mockingbird." Do you think that Boo is the only innocent, or mockingbird, in this novel?
4. Scout ages two years-from six to eight-over the course of Lee's novel, which is narrated from her perspective as an adult. Did you find the account her narrator provides believable? Were there incidents or observations in the book that seemed unusually "knowing" for such a young child? What event or episode in Scout's story do you feel truly captures her personality?
5. To Kill a Mockingbird has been challenged repeatedly by the political left and right, who have sought to remove it from libraries for its portrayal of conflict between children and adults; ungrammatical speech; references to sex, the supernatural, and witchcraft; and unfavorable presentation of blacks. Which elements of the book-if any-do you think touch on controversial issues in our contemporary culture? Did you find any of those elements especially troubling, persuasive, or insightful?
6. Jem describes to Scout the four "folks" or classes of people in Maycomb County: "…our kind of folks don't like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don't like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks." What do you think of the ways in which Lee explores race and class in 1930s Alabama? What significance, if any, do you think these characterizations have for people living in other parts of the world?
7. One of the chief criticisms of To Kill a Mockingbird is that the two central storylines -- Scout, Jem, and Dill's fascination with Boo Radley and the trial between Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson -- are not sufficiently connected in the novel. Do you think that Lee is successful in incorporating these different stories? Were you surprised at the way in which these story lines were resolved? Why or why not?
8. By the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, the book's first sentence: "When he was thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow," has been explained and resolved. What did you think of the events that followed the Halloween pageant? Did you think that Bob Ewell was capable of injuring Scout or Jem? How did you feel about Boo Radley's last-minute intervention?
9. What elements of this book did you find especially memorable, humorous, or inspiring? Are there individual characters whose beliefs, acts, or motives especially impressed or surprised you? Did any events in this book cause you to reconsider your childhood memories or experiences in a new light?
When? Thursday, June 4th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
Historical background
Reconstructing Atticus Finch
Prejudice and Tolerance in To Kill A Mockingbird:
Growing up white in the 1930’s South
Growing up black in 1930’s Alabama
Photos of 1930’s racial discrimination signs
On Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
"Beautiful, Ivy League–educated, and the daughter of a renowned journalist, Marina Thwaite lives in New York City along with two close friends from Brown. All three are just barely 30 and making their way into adulthood. The group orbits around the post September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement. Messud’s comedy of manners is extremely well written and features characters that come alive. This wonderful read is an insightful look at our time and the decisions people make."
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Discussion Questions
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1. How do Scout, Jem, and Dill characterize Boo Radley at the beginning of the book? In what way did Boo's past history of violence foreshadow his method of protecting Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell? Does this repetition of aggression make him more or less of a sympathetic character?
2. In Scout's account of her childhood, her father Atticus reigns supreme. How would you characterize his abilities as a single parent? How would you describe his treatment of Calpurnia and Tom Robinson vis a vis his treatment of his white neighbors and colleagues? How would you typify his views on race and class in the larger context of his community and his peers?
3. The title of Lee's book is alluded to when Atticus gives his children air rifles and tells them that they can shoot all the bluejays they want, but "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." At the end of the novel, Scout likens the "sin" of naming Boo as Bob Ewell's killer to "shootin' a mockingbird." Do you think that Boo is the only innocent, or mockingbird, in this novel?
4. Scout ages two years-from six to eight-over the course of Lee's novel, which is narrated from her perspective as an adult. Did you find the account her narrator provides believable? Were there incidents or observations in the book that seemed unusually "knowing" for such a young child? What event or episode in Scout's story do you feel truly captures her personality?
5. To Kill a Mockingbird has been challenged repeatedly by the political left and right, who have sought to remove it from libraries for its portrayal of conflict between children and adults; ungrammatical speech; references to sex, the supernatural, and witchcraft; and unfavorable presentation of blacks. Which elements of the book-if any-do you think touch on controversial issues in our contemporary culture? Did you find any of those elements especially troubling, persuasive, or insightful?
6. Jem describes to Scout the four "folks" or classes of people in Maycomb County: "…our kind of folks don't like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don't like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks." What do you think of the ways in which Lee explores race and class in 1930s Alabama? What significance, if any, do you think these characterizations have for people living in other parts of the world?
7. One of the chief criticisms of To Kill a Mockingbird is that the two central storylines -- Scout, Jem, and Dill's fascination with Boo Radley and the trial between Mayella Ewell and Tom Robinson -- are not sufficiently connected in the novel. Do you think that Lee is successful in incorporating these different stories? Were you surprised at the way in which these story lines were resolved? Why or why not?
8. By the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, the book's first sentence: "When he was thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow," has been explained and resolved. What did you think of the events that followed the Halloween pageant? Did you think that Bob Ewell was capable of injuring Scout or Jem? How did you feel about Boo Radley's last-minute intervention?
9. What elements of this book did you find especially memorable, humorous, or inspiring? Are there individual characters whose beliefs, acts, or motives especially impressed or surprised you? Did any events in this book cause you to reconsider your childhood memories or experiences in a new light?
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Book of Salt
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, May 14th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
A little history of French colonization of Vietnam
Another short history of French colonization in Vietnam
A history of French colonization (with pictures!)
Some interesting background on Gertrude Stein
If you’re really interested, a play of Gertrude Stein’s is being produced in SF this month.
As always, refreshments will be served. Since we’re discussing Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, it might be appropriate to think about serving Toklas’ famous Haschich Fudge.
Coming up next: On Thursday, June 11th, we’ll discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
And on Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
When? Thursday, May 14th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Going Green: Instead of printing copies of background material for the meeting, it’s attached to this e-mail for you to read before or after our discussion or check out these links for more background info:
A little history of French colonization of Vietnam
Another short history of French colonization in Vietnam
A history of French colonization (with pictures!)
Some interesting background on Gertrude Stein
If you’re really interested, a play of Gertrude Stein’s is being produced in SF this month.
As always, refreshments will be served. Since we’re discussing Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, it might be appropriate to think about serving Toklas’ famous Haschich Fudge.
Coming up next: On Thursday, June 11th, we’ll discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
And on Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
I look forward to seeing you at the library.
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Monday, April 13, 2009
New books chosen for discussion
The Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group has chosen the books we’ll read and discuss together in the next three months. Our meetings for the next three months will be on the second Thursday of the month at 7 pm in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library.
On Thursday, May 14th, we’ll discuss The Book of Salt by Monique Truong.
Set in Paris during the late 1920s and early 1930s, this uniquely told tale by debut novelist Truong features Binh, the fictionalized Vietnamese cook to literary figures Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Early in the novel, readers are whisked inside 27 rue de Fleurus, the real-life residence of the two women, as Binh judiciously describes the daily nuances of his life as well as his own equally intriguing biography. The novel portrays varying dimensions of love as readers observe the relationships between Stein and Toklas, Binh and his lover Sweet Sunday Man, and the Old Man and Binh's mother. From a culinary perspective, this work is a sensual treat .
On Thursday, June 11th, we’ll discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Lawyer Atticus Finch defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic, Puliter Prize-winning novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Through the eyes of Atticus's children, Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930's.
On Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Beautiful, Ivy League–educated, and the daughter of a renowned journalist, Marina Thwaite lives in New York City along with two close friends from Brown. All three are just barely 30 and making their way into adulthood. The group orbits around the post September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement. Messud’s comedy of manners is extremely well written and features characters that come alive. This wonderful read is an insightful look at our time and the decisions people make.
Thanks for reading with us!
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
On Thursday, May 14th, we’ll discuss The Book of Salt by Monique Truong.
Set in Paris during the late 1920s and early 1930s, this uniquely told tale by debut novelist Truong features Binh, the fictionalized Vietnamese cook to literary figures Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Early in the novel, readers are whisked inside 27 rue de Fleurus, the real-life residence of the two women, as Binh judiciously describes the daily nuances of his life as well as his own equally intriguing biography. The novel portrays varying dimensions of love as readers observe the relationships between Stein and Toklas, Binh and his lover Sweet Sunday Man, and the Old Man and Binh's mother. From a culinary perspective, this work is a sensual treat .
On Thursday, June 11th, we’ll discuss To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Lawyer Atticus Finch defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic, Puliter Prize-winning novel--a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Through the eyes of Atticus's children, Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930's.
On Thursday, July 9th, we’ll discuss The Emperor’s Children by Claire Messud
Beautiful, Ivy League–educated, and the daughter of a renowned journalist, Marina Thwaite lives in New York City along with two close friends from Brown. All three are just barely 30 and making their way into adulthood. The group orbits around the post September 11 city with disconcerting entitlement. Messud’s comedy of manners is extremely well written and features characters that come alive. This wonderful read is an insightful look at our time and the decisions people make.
Thanks for reading with us!
Beth Bailey-Gates
Friends of the Fairfax Library
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March discussion - A Bend in the River
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, March 5th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
Discussion questions are below and check out these links for more background info
The Enigma of V. S. Naipaul
Colonial Desire and Disappointment in V. S. Naipaul
V.S. Naipaul, Nikolai Gogol, and the illumination of darkness
Civilization and V. S. Naipaul
Our next book selection is the One Book/One Marin selection, What is the What by Dave Eggers which we’ll discuss on Thursday, April 2nd.
A shameless plug – All month long in March, Bookbeat offers you a free tea or espresso every time you buy a book. Bookbeat is also featuring live acoustic music every morning. Stop by and ask Gary for one of his book recommendations.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
1. "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it."Salim says, “For people like myself…the world was really quite a simple place…the less educated we were, the more at peace we were, the more easily we were carried along by our civilization…” (p. 54) Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Is Salim describing an unexamined life? Are these philosophies complimentary or contrasting?
2. The motto of Ferdinand’s lycee was Semper Aliquid Novi – always something new. Father Huisman’s masks lived up to the motto since masks were made for specific religious purposes. Pliny, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first said, Semper aliquid novi Africam adferre. Africa always brings [us] something new. Has the truth of Pliny’s statement been proved over the centuries?
3. Are there comparisons to be made between Salim’s experience in a newly independent African country with soldiers and tribal warfare and the experiences of Alexandra Fuller’s family as described in her memoir, Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight?
4. On p. 21, “For Europe it was one little probe. For the Arabs of central Africa it was their all; the Arabian energy that had pushed them into Africa had died down at its source… Arab power had vanished.” On p. 76, “slave peoples are physically wretches, half-men in everything except their capacity to breed the next generation” Naipaul makes some very provocative statements in his book. Do these statements advance the story? Are they distracting in their provocation? Is Naipaul racist?
5. What were the differences between the Africa of the “Domain” and the Africa of Salim’s village? Were either the real Africa?
6. A reviewer in The Nation wrote, “In the last reckoning, A Bend in the River is about homelessness.” What does he mean by this? Would you agree that the novel is essentially about homelessness?
7. Speaking about leaving his hometown and family to go to England, Indar says, "It isn't easy to turn your back on the past. It is something you have to arm yourself for, or grief will ambush and destroy you. That is why I hold onto the image of the garden trampled to the ground--it is a small thing, but it helps" (141). Does Naipaul mourn the lost past of Africa or look forward to a new and better Africa?
8. Many writers wax poetic about the purity of the simple life of natives like those of the Bush country in Africa. How does Naipaul describe the African natives such as Zabeth?
9. How does Naipaul describe “the Big Man”? Is he a good ruler of his country? Does he offer hope for a better future in Africa?
10. When Salim first meets Raymond, Raymond says, “I began to wonder…whether the truth ever gets known…Time, the discoverer of truth. I know. It’s the classical idea, the religious idea. But there are times when you begin to wonder. Do we really know the history of the Roman Empire? Do we really know what went on during the conquest of Gaul? I was sitting in my room and thinking with sadness about all the things that have gone unrecorded. Do you think we will ever get to know the truth about what has happened in Africa in the last hundred or even fifty years?” In the beginning of the novel, Salim noted that all he knew about the world was from European history books. What does this say about African history or even world history? Is it important to know the truth of history? Are some things in history better forgotten?
11. What kind of man was Raymond - educated and married to a much younger woman and working as the “Big Man’s white man” and the town cuckold?
12. The description of Salim beating Yvette is very violent and graphic. How does the fictional beating compare to the reality of Naipaul’s confession of beating the women in his life in his new biography?
When? Thursday, March 5th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
Discussion questions are below and check out these links for more background info
The Enigma of V. S. Naipaul
Colonial Desire and Disappointment in V. S. Naipaul
V.S. Naipaul, Nikolai Gogol, and the illumination of darkness
Civilization and V. S. Naipaul
Our next book selection is the One Book/One Marin selection, What is the What by Dave Eggers which we’ll discuss on Thursday, April 2nd.
A shameless plug – All month long in March, Bookbeat offers you a free tea or espresso every time you buy a book. Bookbeat is also featuring live acoustic music every morning. Stop by and ask Gary for one of his book recommendations.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
1. "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it."Salim says, “For people like myself…the world was really quite a simple place…the less educated we were, the more at peace we were, the more easily we were carried along by our civilization…” (p. 54) Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Is Salim describing an unexamined life? Are these philosophies complimentary or contrasting?
2. The motto of Ferdinand’s lycee was Semper Aliquid Novi – always something new. Father Huisman’s masks lived up to the motto since masks were made for specific religious purposes. Pliny, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, first said, Semper aliquid novi Africam adferre. Africa always brings [us] something new. Has the truth of Pliny’s statement been proved over the centuries?
3. Are there comparisons to be made between Salim’s experience in a newly independent African country with soldiers and tribal warfare and the experiences of Alexandra Fuller’s family as described in her memoir, Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight?
4. On p. 21, “For Europe it was one little probe. For the Arabs of central Africa it was their all; the Arabian energy that had pushed them into Africa had died down at its source… Arab power had vanished.” On p. 76, “slave peoples are physically wretches, half-men in everything except their capacity to breed the next generation” Naipaul makes some very provocative statements in his book. Do these statements advance the story? Are they distracting in their provocation? Is Naipaul racist?
5. What were the differences between the Africa of the “Domain” and the Africa of Salim’s village? Were either the real Africa?
6. A reviewer in The Nation wrote, “In the last reckoning, A Bend in the River is about homelessness.” What does he mean by this? Would you agree that the novel is essentially about homelessness?
7. Speaking about leaving his hometown and family to go to England, Indar says, "It isn't easy to turn your back on the past. It is something you have to arm yourself for, or grief will ambush and destroy you. That is why I hold onto the image of the garden trampled to the ground--it is a small thing, but it helps" (141). Does Naipaul mourn the lost past of Africa or look forward to a new and better Africa?
8. Many writers wax poetic about the purity of the simple life of natives like those of the Bush country in Africa. How does Naipaul describe the African natives such as Zabeth?
9. How does Naipaul describe “the Big Man”? Is he a good ruler of his country? Does he offer hope for a better future in Africa?
10. When Salim first meets Raymond, Raymond says, “I began to wonder…whether the truth ever gets known…Time, the discoverer of truth. I know. It’s the classical idea, the religious idea. But there are times when you begin to wonder. Do we really know the history of the Roman Empire? Do we really know what went on during the conquest of Gaul? I was sitting in my room and thinking with sadness about all the things that have gone unrecorded. Do you think we will ever get to know the truth about what has happened in Africa in the last hundred or even fifty years?” In the beginning of the novel, Salim noted that all he knew about the world was from European history books. What does this say about African history or even world history? Is it important to know the truth of history? Are some things in history better forgotten?
11. What kind of man was Raymond - educated and married to a much younger woman and working as the “Big Man’s white man” and the town cuckold?
12. The description of Salim beating Yvette is very violent and graphic. How does the fictional beating compare to the reality of Naipaul’s confession of beating the women in his life in his new biography?
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
It’s time to talk books with the Fairfax Library Book Discussion Group!
When? Thursday, February 5th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
(Our next book selection is A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul which we’ll discuss on Thursday, March 5th.)
Check out these links for background information about Trujillo and the Dominican Republic:
Info about Trujillo http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/people_history-Trujillo.html
History of Dominican Republic http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Dominican-Republic.html
Lonely Planet travel guide http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominican-republic
Discussion Questions provided by the publisher for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are below:
1. Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?
2. The book centers on the story of Oscar and his family—and yet the majority of the book is narrated by Yunior, who is not part of the family, and only plays a relatively minor role in the events of the story. Yunior even calls himself “The Watcher,” underscoring his outsider status in the story. What is the effect of having a relative outsider tell the story of Oscar and his family, rather than having someone in the family tell it? And why do you think Díaz waits for so long at the beginning of the book to reveal who the narrator is?
3. Díaz, in the voice of the narrator, often employs footnotes to explain the history or context of a certain passage or sentence in the main text. Why do you think he chose to convey historical facts and anecdotes in footnote form? How would the novel have read differently if the content of the footnotes had been integrated into the main text? What if the footnotes (and the information in them) had been eliminated altogether?
4. In many ways, Yunior and Oscar are polar opposites. While Yunior can get as many women as he wants, he seems to have little capacity for fidelity or true love. Oscar, by contrast, holds love above all else—and yet cannot find a girlfriend no matter how hard he tries. Is it fair to say that Yunior is Oscar’s foil—underscoring everything Oscar is not—and vice versa? Or are they actually more alike than they seem on the surface?
5. The narrator says “Dominicans are Caribbean and therefore have an extraordinary tolerance for extreme phenomena. How else could we have survived what we survived?” (p. 149). What does he mean by that? Could Oscar’s obsession with science fiction and the “speculative genres” be seen as a kind of extension of his ancestors’ belief in “extreme phenomena”? Was that his method of coping?
6. Yunior characterizes himself as a super macho, womanizing jock-type—and yet in narrating the book, his writing is riddled with reference to nerdy topics like the Fantastic Four and Lord of the Rings. In other words, there seems to be a schism between Yunior the character and Yunior the writer. Why do you think that is? What could Díaz be trying to say by making Yunior’s character so seemingly contradictory?
7. For Oscar, his obsession with fantasy and science fiction becomes isolating, separating him from his peers so much so that he almost cannot communicate with them—as if he speaks a different language (and at one point he actually speaks in Elvish). How are other characters in the book—for instance, Belicia growing up in the Dominican Republic, or Abelard under the dictatorship of Trujillo, similarly isolated? And how are their forms of isolation different?
8. We know from the start that Oscar is destined to die in the course of the book—the title suggests as much, and there are references to his death throughout the book (“Mister. Later [Lola would] want to put that on his gravestone but no one would let her, not even me.” (p. 36)). Why do you think Díaz chose to reveal this from the start? How does Díaz manage to create suspense and hold the reader’s attention even though we already know the final outcome for Oscar? Did it actually make the book more suspenseful, knowing that Oscar was going to die?
9. In one of the footnotes the narrator posits that writers and dictators are not simply natural antagonists, as Salman Rushdie has said, but are actually in competition with one another because they are essentially in the same business (p. 97). What does he mean by that? How can a writer be a kind of dictator? Is the telling of a story somehow inherently tyrannical? Do you think Díaz actually believes that he is in some way comparable to Trujillo? If so, does Díaz try to avoid or subvert that in any way?
10. The author, the primary narrator, and the protagonist of the book are all male, but some of the strongest characters and voices in the book (La Inca, Belicia, Lola) are female. Who do you think makes the strongest, boldest decisions in the book? Given the machismo and swagger of the narrative voice, how does the author express the strength of the female characters? Do you think there is an intentional comment in the contrast between that masculine voice and the strong female characters?
11. There are a few chapters in the book in which Lola takes over the narration and tells her story in her own words. Why do you think it is important to the novel to let Lola have a chance to speak for herself? Do you think Díaz is as successful in creating a female narrative voice as he is the male one?
12. How much of her own story do you think Belicia shared with her children? How much do you think Belicia knew about her father Abelard’s story?
13. The image of a mongoose with golden eyes and the a man without a face appear at critical moments and to various characters throughout the book. What do these images represent? Why do you think Díaz chose these images in particular? When they do appear, do you think you are supposed to take them literally? For instance, did you believe that a mongoose appeared to Belicia and spoke to her? Did she believe it?
14. While Oscar’s story is central to the novel, the book is not told in his voice, and there are many chapters in which Oscar does not figure at all, and others in which he only plays a fairly minor role. Who do you consider the true protagonist of the novel? Oscar? Yunior? Belicia? The entire de Leon and Cabral family? The fukú?
15. Oscar is very far from the traditional model of a “hero.” Other characters in the book are more traditionally heroic, making bold decisions on behalf of others to protect them—for instance, La Inca rescuing young Belicia, or Abelard trying to protect his daughters. In the end, do you think Oscar is heroic or foolish? And are those other characters—La Inca, Abelard—more or less heroic than Oscar?
16. During the course of the book, many of the characters try to teach Oscar many things—especially Yunior, who tries to teach him how to lose weight, how to attract women, how to behave in social situations. Do any characters not try to teach Oscar anything, and just accept him as who he is? How much does Oscar actually learn from anyone? And in the end, what does Oscar teach Yunior, and the other characters if anything?
When? Thursday, February 5th at 7 p.m.
Where? Fairfax Library meeting room
What Book? The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
(Our next book selection is A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul which we’ll discuss on Thursday, March 5th.)
Check out these links for background information about Trujillo and the Dominican Republic:
Info about Trujillo http://www.colonialzone-dr.com/people_history-Trujillo.html
History of Dominican Republic http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Dominican-Republic.html
Lonely Planet travel guide http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dominican-republic
Discussion Questions provided by the publisher for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are below:
1. Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?
2. The book centers on the story of Oscar and his family—and yet the majority of the book is narrated by Yunior, who is not part of the family, and only plays a relatively minor role in the events of the story. Yunior even calls himself “The Watcher,” underscoring his outsider status in the story. What is the effect of having a relative outsider tell the story of Oscar and his family, rather than having someone in the family tell it? And why do you think Díaz waits for so long at the beginning of the book to reveal who the narrator is?
3. Díaz, in the voice of the narrator, often employs footnotes to explain the history or context of a certain passage or sentence in the main text. Why do you think he chose to convey historical facts and anecdotes in footnote form? How would the novel have read differently if the content of the footnotes had been integrated into the main text? What if the footnotes (and the information in them) had been eliminated altogether?
4. In many ways, Yunior and Oscar are polar opposites. While Yunior can get as many women as he wants, he seems to have little capacity for fidelity or true love. Oscar, by contrast, holds love above all else—and yet cannot find a girlfriend no matter how hard he tries. Is it fair to say that Yunior is Oscar’s foil—underscoring everything Oscar is not—and vice versa? Or are they actually more alike than they seem on the surface?
5. The narrator says “Dominicans are Caribbean and therefore have an extraordinary tolerance for extreme phenomena. How else could we have survived what we survived?” (p. 149). What does he mean by that? Could Oscar’s obsession with science fiction and the “speculative genres” be seen as a kind of extension of his ancestors’ belief in “extreme phenomena”? Was that his method of coping?
6. Yunior characterizes himself as a super macho, womanizing jock-type—and yet in narrating the book, his writing is riddled with reference to nerdy topics like the Fantastic Four and Lord of the Rings. In other words, there seems to be a schism between Yunior the character and Yunior the writer. Why do you think that is? What could Díaz be trying to say by making Yunior’s character so seemingly contradictory?
7. For Oscar, his obsession with fantasy and science fiction becomes isolating, separating him from his peers so much so that he almost cannot communicate with them—as if he speaks a different language (and at one point he actually speaks in Elvish). How are other characters in the book—for instance, Belicia growing up in the Dominican Republic, or Abelard under the dictatorship of Trujillo, similarly isolated? And how are their forms of isolation different?
8. We know from the start that Oscar is destined to die in the course of the book—the title suggests as much, and there are references to his death throughout the book (“Mister. Later [Lola would] want to put that on his gravestone but no one would let her, not even me.” (p. 36)). Why do you think Díaz chose to reveal this from the start? How does Díaz manage to create suspense and hold the reader’s attention even though we already know the final outcome for Oscar? Did it actually make the book more suspenseful, knowing that Oscar was going to die?
9. In one of the footnotes the narrator posits that writers and dictators are not simply natural antagonists, as Salman Rushdie has said, but are actually in competition with one another because they are essentially in the same business (p. 97). What does he mean by that? How can a writer be a kind of dictator? Is the telling of a story somehow inherently tyrannical? Do you think Díaz actually believes that he is in some way comparable to Trujillo? If so, does Díaz try to avoid or subvert that in any way?
10. The author, the primary narrator, and the protagonist of the book are all male, but some of the strongest characters and voices in the book (La Inca, Belicia, Lola) are female. Who do you think makes the strongest, boldest decisions in the book? Given the machismo and swagger of the narrative voice, how does the author express the strength of the female characters? Do you think there is an intentional comment in the contrast between that masculine voice and the strong female characters?
11. There are a few chapters in the book in which Lola takes over the narration and tells her story in her own words. Why do you think it is important to the novel to let Lola have a chance to speak for herself? Do you think Díaz is as successful in creating a female narrative voice as he is the male one?
12. How much of her own story do you think Belicia shared with her children? How much do you think Belicia knew about her father Abelard’s story?
13. The image of a mongoose with golden eyes and the a man without a face appear at critical moments and to various characters throughout the book. What do these images represent? Why do you think Díaz chose these images in particular? When they do appear, do you think you are supposed to take them literally? For instance, did you believe that a mongoose appeared to Belicia and spoke to her? Did she believe it?
14. While Oscar’s story is central to the novel, the book is not told in his voice, and there are many chapters in which Oscar does not figure at all, and others in which he only plays a fairly minor role. Who do you consider the true protagonist of the novel? Oscar? Yunior? Belicia? The entire de Leon and Cabral family? The fukú?
15. Oscar is very far from the traditional model of a “hero.” Other characters in the book are more traditionally heroic, making bold decisions on behalf of others to protect them—for instance, La Inca rescuing young Belicia, or Abelard trying to protect his daughters. In the end, do you think Oscar is heroic or foolish? And are those other characters—La Inca, Abelard—more or less heroic than Oscar?
16. During the course of the book, many of the characters try to teach Oscar many things—especially Yunior, who tries to teach him how to lose weight, how to attract women, how to behave in social situations. Do any characters not try to teach Oscar anything, and just accept him as who he is? How much does Oscar actually learn from anyone? And in the end, what does Oscar teach Yunior, and the other characters if anything?
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Thursday meeting, People of the Book
Our next discussion will be this Thursday, January 8th at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Fairfax Library.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Check out this link for photos of the actual Sarajevo Haggadah.
And check out this link for the article Brooks wrote for The New Yorker detailing the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah.
Discussion questions for the book are below.
FEBRUARY, 2009
Our February 5th choice for discussion is
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.
(From Publisher’s Weekly) "This dark and exuberant first novel makes a compelling case for the multiperspectival view of a life, wherein an individual cannot be known or understood in isolation from the history of his family and his nation. The various nationalities and generations are subtended by the recurring motif of fukú, the Curse and Doom of the New World, whose midwife and... victim was a historical personage Diaz will only call the Admiral, in deference to the belief that uttering his name brings bad luck (hint: he arrived in the New World in 1492 and his initials are CC). By the prologue's end, it's clear that this story of one poor guy's cursed life will also be the story of how 500 years of historical and familial bad luck shape the destiny of its fat, sad, smart, lovable and short-lived protagonist."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
1. When Hanna implores Ozren to solicit a second opinion on Alia’s condition, he becomes angry and tells her, “Not every story has a happy ending.” (p. 37). To what extent do you believe that their perspectives on tragedy and death are cultural? To what extent are they personal?
2. Isak tells Mordechai, “At least the pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense of other creatures that dwell in the desert.” (p.50). If you were Lola, would you have left the safety of your known life and gone to Palestine? Is it better to live as a pigeon or a hawk? Or is there an alternative?
3. When Father Vistorni asks Rabbi Judah Ayreh to warn the printer that the Church disapproves of one of their recently published texts, Ayreh tells him, “better you do it than to have us so intellectually enslaved that we do it for you.” (p.156). Do you agree or disagree with his argument? With the way he handled Vistorni’s request?
4. What was it, ultimately, that made Father Vistorini approve the Haggadah? Since Brooks leaves this part of the story unclear, how do you imagine it made its way from his rooms to Sarajevo?
5. Several of the novel’s female characters lived in the pre-feminist era and certainly fared poorly at the hands of men. Does the fact that she was pushing for gender equality—not to mention saving lives—justify Sarah Heath’s poor parenting skills? Would women’s rights be where they are today if it weren’t for women like her?
7. Have you ever been in a position where your professional judgment has been called into question? How did you react?
8. Was Hanna being fair to suspect only Amitai of the theft? Do you think charges should have been pressed against the culprits?
9. How did Hanna change after discovering the truth about her father? Would the person she was before her mother’s accident have realized that she loved Ozren? Or risked the dangers involved in returning the codex?
10. The Haggadah's fate illuminates the prejudice and mindless persecution that fills the history of the world. Ozren wonders why more people do not realize "that to be a human being matters more than to be Jew or a Muslim, [or a] Catholic." Does this novel illustrate the necessity of diversity and tolerance in the world for you? Or is it a story of individuals valuing history and art more than religious differences?
11. When do we consider loss in our own lives? What cost and what effect does loss have on our everyday existence? Is it traumatic only when a loved one passes or is there more of a sense of collective loss when looking at centuries of war, loss of life or needless destruction of towns and cities? How do we measure that loss compared to a loss of love or even when a beloved object goes missing?
12. There is an amazing array of “people of the book”—both base and noble—whose lifetimes span some remarkable periods in human history. Who is your favorite and why?
13. People of the Book details time periods through history when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony and also describes uglier times when they warred. The survival of the book is a testament to tolerance. Does that history have any relevance for today’s current events?
14. People of the Book tells several stories in the present day and 5 historical periods, Sarajevo in 1940, Vienna in 1894, Venice in 1609, Barcelona in 1492 and Seville 1480. Did any of those historical time periods strike a chord with you?
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Check out this link for photos of the actual Sarajevo Haggadah.
And check out this link for the article Brooks wrote for The New Yorker detailing the history of the Sarajevo Haggadah.
Discussion questions for the book are below.
FEBRUARY, 2009
Our February 5th choice for discussion is
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz.
(From Publisher’s Weekly) "This dark and exuberant first novel makes a compelling case for the multiperspectival view of a life, wherein an individual cannot be known or understood in isolation from the history of his family and his nation. The various nationalities and generations are subtended by the recurring motif of fukú, the Curse and Doom of the New World, whose midwife and... victim was a historical personage Diaz will only call the Admiral, in deference to the belief that uttering his name brings bad luck (hint: he arrived in the New World in 1492 and his initials are CC). By the prologue's end, it's clear that this story of one poor guy's cursed life will also be the story of how 500 years of historical and familial bad luck shape the destiny of its fat, sad, smart, lovable and short-lived protagonist."
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
1. When Hanna implores Ozren to solicit a second opinion on Alia’s condition, he becomes angry and tells her, “Not every story has a happy ending.” (p. 37). To what extent do you believe that their perspectives on tragedy and death are cultural? To what extent are they personal?
2. Isak tells Mordechai, “At least the pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense of other creatures that dwell in the desert.” (p.50). If you were Lola, would you have left the safety of your known life and gone to Palestine? Is it better to live as a pigeon or a hawk? Or is there an alternative?
3. When Father Vistorni asks Rabbi Judah Ayreh to warn the printer that the Church disapproves of one of their recently published texts, Ayreh tells him, “better you do it than to have us so intellectually enslaved that we do it for you.” (p.156). Do you agree or disagree with his argument? With the way he handled Vistorni’s request?
4. What was it, ultimately, that made Father Vistorini approve the Haggadah? Since Brooks leaves this part of the story unclear, how do you imagine it made its way from his rooms to Sarajevo?
5. Several of the novel’s female characters lived in the pre-feminist era and certainly fared poorly at the hands of men. Does the fact that she was pushing for gender equality—not to mention saving lives—justify Sarah Heath’s poor parenting skills? Would women’s rights be where they are today if it weren’t for women like her?
7. Have you ever been in a position where your professional judgment has been called into question? How did you react?
8. Was Hanna being fair to suspect only Amitai of the theft? Do you think charges should have been pressed against the culprits?
9. How did Hanna change after discovering the truth about her father? Would the person she was before her mother’s accident have realized that she loved Ozren? Or risked the dangers involved in returning the codex?
10. The Haggadah's fate illuminates the prejudice and mindless persecution that fills the history of the world. Ozren wonders why more people do not realize "that to be a human being matters more than to be Jew or a Muslim, [or a] Catholic." Does this novel illustrate the necessity of diversity and tolerance in the world for you? Or is it a story of individuals valuing history and art more than religious differences?
11. When do we consider loss in our own lives? What cost and what effect does loss have on our everyday existence? Is it traumatic only when a loved one passes or is there more of a sense of collective loss when looking at centuries of war, loss of life or needless destruction of towns and cities? How do we measure that loss compared to a loss of love or even when a beloved object goes missing?
12. There is an amazing array of “people of the book”—both base and noble—whose lifetimes span some remarkable periods in human history. Who is your favorite and why?
13. People of the Book details time periods through history when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived together in harmony and also describes uglier times when they warred. The survival of the book is a testament to tolerance. Does that history have any relevance for today’s current events?
14. People of the Book tells several stories in the present day and 5 historical periods, Sarajevo in 1940, Vienna in 1894, Venice in 1609, Barcelona in 1492 and Seville 1480. Did any of those historical time periods strike a chord with you?
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