READERS GUIDE
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. The novel is told entirely from Yoella’s perspective as she reflects on her experience as a mother and also as a daughter. It omits, among other things, Leah’s own perspective, and that of Yoella’s mother. How do Yoella’s relationships with her mother and her daughter differ? How did the novel make you think about the role of mothers, and of daughters?
2. At the beginning of the novel, Yoella reflects on a film she once watched, in which a near tragedy at a ski resort quietly breaks apart a family. What tension does this memory introduce into the story? Why do you think it has such significance for Yoella?
3. Hila Blum has said that “fiction is the art of what to tell, but it is also the art of what not to tell.” How did you see this principle play out in the book? What connections did you make about the events presented, and what effect did what was not told have on your sense of what happens?
4. The novel does not proceed chronologically: the layers of the past are interweaved with the present. Why do you think Blum decided to unfold the story this way? What is the effect?
5. As the novel goes on, we learn more about Yoella’s episodes of sadness and retreat. What did you make of this history? Do you see them as causes or effects of the dynamics in her relationships?
6. Yoella and her husband, Meir, have distinct relationships with their daughter, and a complicated history of their own. How did your sense of their triangle and the power dynamics in it shift as the story went on?
7. After Meir’s death, Yoella finds a new partner. How does this relationship compare with her relationship with Meir? What new aspects of her character does it reveal?
8. As a mother, Yoella describes herself as overwhelmed with love and motivated solely by it. Is that how you see her? What other emotions do you see at play?
9. In adolescence, Leah begins to act in ways Yoella finds troubling and inexplicable, such as refusing the lead role in a dance performance (a decision she hides from her mother) and pursuing a boy who does not reciprocate her interest. What do you make of these apparent changes in her behavior?
10. Leah’s pursuit of the boy, Dennis, leads to a disturbing incident that results in his expulsion from school. Yoella plays a key role. What did you think about how she handled the situation, and about the course of action she advised Leah to take? What do you think you would have done in her place?
11. When she finishes school, Leah leaves Israel, saying she intends to travel. She doesn’t see Yoella for years, except for a brief visit when Meir is dying, and they barely speak. What do you think has driven her to disconnect from her mother? Is her decision just? Who, if anyone, is to blame?
12. On her way back from Holland, Yoella thinks, “My daughter is a conundrum but not to me. I knew her then and know her still. She will need one person in the world who loves her more than anything.” Is Yoella right?
