The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult

 

Characters
Sage	Minka’s fictional story
Sage Parents - died when 19 and 21 Pepper and Saffron – sisters   Grandmother – Minka Darija – best friend – killed in concentration camp   Adam – boyfriend, married   Helping Hands grief support group   Mary DeAngelis – owner, Our Daily Bread - former nun Rocco – barista   Josef Weber – Reiner/Franz Hartmann   Leo Stein – Office of Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Genevra - historian	Ania Emil – father, baker   Baruch Beiler – tax collector Damian – Captain of the Guard   Aleksander Lubov – evening baker/upior Casimir – brother – upior

 

For discussion:
NOTE: The page numbers are from the hardback edition of the book.

1. Do you think Sage should give Josef the forgiveness he wants?  Can she really do that?  If she does not, does that make her "just as heartless as he is" (125)?
2. One tenet of Judaism is that there are two wrongs that cannot be forgiven.  One is murder, because the victim cannot forgive, and the second is ruining someone's reputation.  How does this belief influence Sage and her decision to "forgive" Josef?
3. How well do you think the author addressed the issue of the Holocaust?
4. Jodi Picoult gives several reasons why the German people followed Hitler including, "Because we so badly wanted to believe what Hitler told us.  That the future would be better than our present" (123), and "No matter how educated you are, no matter how irrational it seems, you will follow a glimmer of hope" (112).  Do you think her analysis is correct?
5. Discuss the various characters.  Were there any of their actions that you did not understand?  Were you able to connect with them even though their situations were so different than yours?
6. Why do you think Josef did so many good things in America?  Leo thinks it was simply because of guilt (377).  Also, Sage questions if  Josef has a conscience and if not, how can he feel guilty.  What do you think?
7. Minka felt that she lowered herself to the Nazi"s level when she started to hate all Germans.  Do you agree?
8. Why did Franz switch identies with his brother, Reiner?
9. Why did the author include Minka's fictional story?  What part did it play in the novel?
10. Why did Sage kill Josef instead of turning him in which would have been more painful for him?
11. Discuss your reading experience.  Do you think the way Picoult presented the stories was effective?  Which of the story lines did you find most interesting?
12. Did you learn anything new or have any new insights after reading this book?

*****
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