Day After Night, by Anita Diamant

Atlit is a holding camp for “illegal” immigrants in Israel in 1945. There, about 270 men and women await their future and try to recover from their past. Diamant, with infinite compassion and understanding, tells the stories of the women gathered in this place. Shayndel is a Polish Zionist who fought the Germans with a band of partisans. Leonie is a Parisian beauty. Tedi is Dutch, a strapping blond who wants only to forget. Zorah survived Auschwitz. Haunted by unspeakable memories and too many losses to bear, these young women, along with a stunning cast of supporting characters who work in or pass through Atlit, begin to find salvation in the bonds of friendship and shared experience, as they confront the challenge of re-creating themselves and discovering a way to live again.

1. Shayndel “was overcome by the weight of what she had lost: mother, father, brother, friends, neighbors, comrades, lovers, landscapes.” Reflecting on her past Leonie remembers a vision in which “her own voice, [said] yes to life, as miserable as it was.” For Zorah, remembering the worst of what happened to her and others is a sacred trust. Although loss and suffering have shaped each character, they are remarkably resilient. How might terribly memories actually keep a person going? What does the book tell us about the strength of the human spirit?
2. What is the significance of the book’s title? How can it be interpreted?
3. How do food and celebration play an important part in the novel?
4. How do Tirzah and Bryce’s similarities and differences influence their love for each other? There are great silences between them; how do small physical gestures communicate their thoughts and feelings?
5. As Zorah’s feelings for Esther and Jacob change, she reflects that “the world was an instrument of destruction” but that “the opposite of destruction is creation.” How does this idea reflect the novel as a whole? Diamant also writes (in Zorah’s voice) that “‘luck’ was just another word for ‘creation,’ which was as relentless as destruction.” What does this mean? How is this a turning point for Zorah?
6. All of the characters have strengths that helped them to survive the war. How do their strengths and weaknesses influence each other? How might one person’s weakness help to develop another person’s strength?
7. “Everyone in Atlit had secrets… Most people managed to keep their secrets under control, concealed behind a mask of optimism or piety or anger. But there were an unfortunate few without a strategy or system for managing the past…” How do secrets play a role in all of the women’s experiences at the camp? How have each of them been shaped by secrets?
8. Discuss the theme of identity and how it plays an important role in the characters’ lives. Consider Esther and Jacob’s story, Shayndel’s memories of her skills as a fighter in contrast to the way others at the camp view her, Leonie’s past, etc.
9. What does Tedi’s keen sense of smell symbolize? How does her sense of smell provide insights into the other characters?
10. How do the characters find common ground despite seemingly impossible circumstances? Consider the relationships between Tirzah and Bryce, Leonie and Lotte, and Zorah and Esther, among others.
11. “Leonie’s skin was unblemished. She had not hidden in a Polish sewer or shivered in a Russian barn. She had not seen her parents shot. Atlit was her first experience of barracks and barbwire. She had survived the war without suffering hunger or thirst. There had been wine and hashish and a pink satin coverlet to muffle her terrors.” Discuss this passage. What does it say about the nature of fear and horror? How would you compare Leonie’s experiences during the war with those of her friends? How can internal and external horror be equally destructive?
12. How did you feel about Lotte’s story? Did the way it ended surprise you? What do you make of the main characters’ silence about what happened?
13. On their last night together each of the women has a vivid dream. How would you interpret these?
14. What did you think of the epilogue? Was it satisfying?
15. How would you compare Day After Night with other World War II-era novels that you’ve read?
16. What are some of your favorite passages from the book? What were some of the most difficult parts to read?

The Earth Hums in B Flat, by Mari Strachan

Gwenni Morgan is not like any other girl in this small Welsh town. Inquisitive, bookish and full of spirit, she can fly in her sleep and loves playing detective. So when a neighbour mysteriously vanishes, and no one seems to be asking the right questions, Gwenni decides to conduct her own investigation. Mari Strachan’s unforgettable novel was one of the most acclaimed and successful debuts of 2009. It is a heart-breaking and hugely enjoyable story.

1. In The Earth Hums in B Flat we see everything through Gwenni’s eyes. How trustworthy a narrator is she?
2. Does The Earth Hums in B Flat explore specifically the Welsh psyche, or do you think the story could have been set anywhere?
3. Which of the two sisters do you think will be the most affected as they grow up by the revelations in the book? Which of them will cope best?
4. Is Gwenni’s flying an escape strategy? Or does she really fly? How does what you think change the story?
5. The ending is ambiguous in several ways. Do you think Gwenni is a highly imaginative, slightly obsessive child, or has she inherited her mother’s bipolar disorder?
6. The diagnosis and medical treatment of mental illness has advanced greatly in the last fifty years. How far forward do you think society has advanced in the way mental illness is viewed?
7. The characters in The Earth Hums in B Flat all speak in Welsh, with only a couple of exceptions. Was this a surprise? How did it affect your reading of the book?
8. How difficult is it for younger readers to appreciate how different life was for children in the 1950s, when children were ‘seen and not heard’?
9. To what extent does Magda’s illness affect her relationship with other people, especially Emlyn and Gwenni? What part does her innate character play in her behaviour?
10. People in the book keep secrets from one another, and certainly from children. Is this a good idea, or is it better always to have things out in the open?
11. The past, in the form of the World Wars and family history, casts a long shadow over the characters in The Earth Hums in B Flat. Is it ever desirable, or even possible, to escape our pasts?
12. How important are books to Gwenni? Is she able to learn everything she needs from them? Is it possible for anyone to do that?
13. Gwenni is reluctant to grow up. Why do you think this is? How do your memories of your life at twelve and a half compare to Gwenni’s reality – were you reluctant or eager to grow up?
14. Gwenni has complex feelings about food. Why do you think that is? Do you have strong memories of the food you ate as children?
15. Alwenna tells Gwenni that her father was considered a saint for having stayed with Magda after the war. Is it true that Emlyn is a saint or is he simply a good, kind man out of his depth in the situation in which he finds himself and therefore ineffectual?
16. The Earth Hums in B Flat has many minor characters who support the main cast. Which of these minor characters is your favourite, and why?
17. Most of the main characters in The Earth Hums in B Flat are women. They seem to be the ones who run things. Was that really how it was, do you think, or is it only how it seems from Gwenni’s viewpoint?
18. Gwenni takes for granted the place of the Chapel in her life. Which aspect of Chapel do you think plays the greatest part in her life – the social, the spiritual, the religious?
19. Reviewers have found The Earth Hums in B Flat both funny and sad. How do these elements work together in the book? Is it an effective combination?

The Gourmet, by Muriel Barbery

France’s greatest food critic is dying, after a lifetime in single-minded pursuit of sensual delights. But as Pierre Arthens lies on his death bed, he is tormented by an inability to recall the most delicious food to ever pass his lips, which he ate long before becoming a critic. Desperate to taste it one more time, he looks back over the years to see if he can pin down the elusive dish. Revealing far more than his love of great food, the narration by this larger-than-life individual alternates with the voices of those closest to him and their own experiences of the man. Muriel Barbery’s gifts as an evocative storyteller are put to mouth-watering use in this voluptuous and poignant meditation on food and its deeper significance in our lives. A delectable treat to savour.

1. How far do you think The Gourmet is a book of the senses?
2. Muriel Barbery’s writing evokes food very vividly. Which was your favourite description of food and why?
3. Pierre Arthens has ruthlessly pursued ambition and personal enjoyment at the expense of everyone else in his life. What do you think drove him to do this? Do you think it is a trait shared by many people who achieve this level of success?
4. Is there anything surprising about Arthens’s personality? Do you find him at all likeable? Why does he seem to have a special affinity with animals?
5. There are many memories of childhood in the book. Which would you say best captures how children experience the world?
6. How significant is the theme of self-deception in the story?
7. What does the book tell us about the difference between the way individuals present themselves to the world and how they feel inside?
8. How do the many voices who speak in the novel contribute to our understanding of Arthens? Do you feel this is an effective way of telling the story?
9. What did you think of the ending? What does Arthens derive from finally remembering his long-sought-after flavour?
10. Ultimately, is the book really about the significance of food?

Other resources

• An interview with the author
• Read an extract
  

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