|
Characters |
|
|
2005 |
1942 |
|
Eva Abrams –
age 86 Ben – son Louis –
husband, deceased Otto Kuhn –
photo in paper Jenny Fish –
Library Assistant Manager |
Eva Taube “Tatus” –
father Faiga –
“mamusia” Madame
Fontain – neighbor Simone and
Colette – children Madame
Barbier – owner of boarding house Peres Clement
– pastor, Eglise Saint Alban Remy
Charpentier (real name Duchamp) Madame
Gremillan – brothel, supported Jewish cause Genevieve
Marchand – new forger Joseph
Pelletier “Gerard Faucon” – student with Eva, betrayed the resistance cell Enrich –
German soldier Madame
Travere – hid children False
identities: Colette
Fountain Madame
Fountain Marie
Charpentier Eva Moreau Yelena Moreau Lucie Besson
– for trip taking children across border |
For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.
1.
Did you understand Eva’s mother’s anger,
feelings of betrayal, and her attitude and behavior toward Eva?
2.
Why was her mother so resistant to the good
things that Eva was doing?
3.
Her mother’s last act was to protect Eva. Do you think she understood what she had been
doing and forgave her?
4.
Can Eva forgive herself? After learning that her mother had been
killed, she asked Pere Clement “How will I ever forgive myself if the decisions
I’ve made cost my mother her life?” (page 328).
5.
What do you think Eva’s mother would have
thought if she had learned that Joseph Pelletier, who she hoped Eva would
marry, was the one who betrayed Eva and the others?
6.
Were you surprised that Eva did not tell her
husband and son about her previous life?
How do you think they would have reacted?
7.
When Eva was boarding the flight to Germany, she
observes a boy who looks like her son as a child. Eva things, “I’ve always thought that it’s
those children – the ones who realize that books are magic – who will have the
brightest lives” and “Books change the world, I think” (page 165). How can books influence the lives of children
and change the world?
