Arlene's Book Club

Read synopsis.

Discussion Questions:

1. What was the significance that William Shakespeare was not mentioned by name but referred to as dad, husband, Latin tutor etc.? Why did the author not mention his name?

2. Agnes and her husband William, were they well suited? Why, why not?

3. What did you think of Agnes? Did you like her? Why did the author make her character a healer?

4. Why did Agnes have her first child in the woods? Why did she want to have her other kids there? What was her thought process?

Read synopsis.

Discussion Questions:

1. “One could not count the moons that shimmers on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”

The title of the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, comes from the 17th century poem ‘Kabul’ written by Saib-e-Tabrizi. Did you like the literary and cultural reference? Did you want to find out more about the poem and Kabul?

2. Did you enjoy learning about Afghanistan and the political regime changes from the book?

Read synopsis here.

Discussion Questions:

1. What did you think of PT Sir initially? Did your opinion of him change by the end of the book?

2. Have you come across the term hijra before? What did you think of Lovely as hijra? How do you feel about Lovely?

3. What did you think of Divan?

4. The story line is broken up with interludes. Did you like them? Which one did you like? Did it enhance your reading experience?

Read synopsis here.

Discussion Questions:

“I was born without a voice, one cold, overcast day in Brooklyn, New York. No one ever spoke of my condition. I did not know I was mute until years later, when I opened my mouth to ask for what I wanted and realized no one could hear me. Where I come from, voicelessness is the condition of my gender, as normal as the bosoms on a woman’s chest, as necessary as the next generation growing inside her belly. “

1. A Woman Is No Man opens up with an impactful statement about being voiceless and that being silent will save them, and to discover that years later it is false. How do you feel about that statement? Did this pique your interest and make you want to read her story?