I haven't talked much about book club. Deb Gren and I are the founders and discussion leaders of the Cedar Springs book club. We meet at the Cedar Springs Library on the third Monday of every month, with the exception of December. We read a book a month and discuss it. We have been at this for I think about five years now. This month's book was March by Geraldine Brooks. This book is based on the premise that it is telling the story of the absent father in the classic Little Women. The author bases the main character loosely on Louisa May Alcott's real life father. The setting is of course the civil war. We have previously read Year of Wonders, which our club really enjoyed. The author, who has won the Pulitzer Prize, has a new book out as well called People Of The Book. On a five star rating we gave it four and a half. I will post the discussion questions in the comments section. You can find out more about the book and the author at http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/ and click on March. Next month's book is Snow Flower And The Secret Fan by Lisa See. I actually just finished reading it today. It is a rather quick read. It goes much faster than March - although March is a relatively quick read as well. Just be prepared to wince in this book. There is a rather detailed discussion of foot binding.
1 comment:
Discussion Questions:
1. Throughout the novel, March and Marmee, although devoted to one another, seem to misunderstand each other quite a bit and often do not tell each other the complete truth. Discuss examples of where this happens and how things may have turned out differently, for better or worse, had they been completely honest. Are there times when it is best not to tell our loved ones the truth?
2.The Causes of the American Civil War were multiple and overlapping. What was your oponion of hte war when you first cam to the novel, and has it changed al all since reading March?
3. March's relationshipswith both Marmee and Grace are pivital in his life. Discuss the differences betwen these two relationships and how they help to shape March, his worldview, and his future. What other people and events are pivotal in shaping March's beliefs?
4. Do you think it was the right decision for March to have supported, morally or finacially, the northern abolitionist John Brown? Brown's tactics were controversial, but did the ends justify the means?
5. "If war can ever be said to be just, then this war is so: it is action for a moral cause, with the most rigorous of intellectual underpinnings. And yet everywhere I turn, I see injustice done in the waging of it," says March(p.65). Do you think that March still believes the war is just by the end of the novel? Why or why not?
6. What is your oponion of March's enlisting? Should he have stayed home wiht his family? How do we decide when to put our principles ahead of our personal obligations?
7. When Marmee is speaking of her husband's enlisting in the army, she makes a very eloquent statement:"A sacrifice such as his is called noble by the world. But the world will not help me put back together what war has broken apart" (p.210)Do her words have resonance in today's world? How are the people who fight our wars today perceived? Do you think we pay enough attention to the families of those in the military? Have your opinions been influnced at all by the inclusion of women in the military?
8. The war raged on for several years after March's return home. How do you imagine he spent those remaining years of the war? How do you think his relationship with Marmee changed? How might it have stayed the same?
Post a Comment