|
Characters |
|
Fikry, A. J. Nic – wife,
deceased Island Books Ismay
Evans-Parish – Nic’s sister, teacher, directs school plays Daniel Parish
– husband, A. J.’s friend, novelist Chief
Lambiase Amelia Loman
“Amy” – sales rep for Knightley Press Maya
Tamerlane Firky – toddler left in bookstore, adopted by A. J. Marian
Wallace – mother, suicide Tamerlane
– by Edgar Allan Poe Leonora
Ferris – author, The Late Bloomer Leon Friedman
– pen name |
For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2014 paperback edition
1.
One of the customers, Mrs. Cumberbatch, wants to
return The Book Thief because it was narrated by Death, it kept her up
reading all night, and the novel made her cry.
What did you think of her complaints?
What would make you return or throw away a book?
2.
Could you relate to A. J.’s complaints about
Maya – “She’s worse than a puppy…She’s not potty trained and I have no idea how
to do that…We talk about Elmo, and I can’t stand him…She’s totally
self-centered” (page 60 and 61)?
3.
He also complained that “she always wants to
read the same book. And it’s like, the
crappiest board book, The Monster at the End of the Book” (page
61). What was your favorite book as a
child?
4.
There was lots of quotes about books and
reading, such as “Sometimes books don’t find us until the right time” (page
92). Have you ever experienced something
like that – feeling a book was yours to read at exactly the right time in your
life?
5.
Firky said “You know everything you need to know
about a person from the answer to the question, What is your favorite book?”
(page 87). What is your favorite book
and what does it say about you?
6.
Discuss Leonora Ferris/Leon Friedman and the
book The Late Bloomer. The book
was fiction, but to help it sell Leonora called it a memoir and hired Leon to
portray the author at signing events.
Was that deceitful?
7.
Did you think it was Leonora who read at the
wedding (page 157)? If so, why would she
be invited to do so?
8.
Discuss the storyline of the book, Tamerlane,
throughout the novel. Ismay stole it
and gave it to Marian Wallace to sell.
Then Lambaise found it and the sale funded A. J.’s surgery. Why didn’t Marian sell the book? Did this storyline add to the novel?
9.
Firky was very upset when his mother gave him,
Amelia, and Maya e-readers. He said to
her, “do you even understand that that infernal device is not only going to
single-handedly destroy my business but, worse than that, send centuries of a
vibrant literary culture into what will surely be an unceremonious and rapid
decline?” (page 217). Do you agree? Do you prefer actual books or e-readers? Why?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
10.
After his surgery A.J. preferred to read short
stories because of his decreased attention span. He told Maya, “novels certainly have their
charms, but the most elegant creation in the prose universe is a short story”
(page 246). Do you agree? Do you like short stories? Why or why not?
11.
The chapter titles are short stories that A J.
describes. Why do you think he is
creating the list? Have you read any of
the stories? Was that an effective way
to introduce each chapter?
12.
When Ismay and Lambiase were thinking about
running the bookstore they discussed the following. Do you agree?
a. “There
ain’t nobody in the world like book people.
It’s a business of gentleman and gentlewomen.” (page 254).
b. “I
like talking about books with people who like talking about books. I like paper.
I like how it feel…I like how a new book smells, too.” (page 255)
13.
What helped the new book store be a success?
14.
Did you like the ending?
No comments:
Post a Comment