|
Beth is conflicted because she loves both Gabriel and Frank (p. 132). Do you think she does, in fact, love each of them equally? Is it possible to love two people at the same time?
|
|
19
|
237
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Did you enjoy the way Clare Leslie Hall teased out the details of the murder trial? Who did you initially suspect was on trial? Did it play out the way you thought it would?
|
|
16
|
195
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
How did Beth and Frank’s marriage seem to you at the start of the novel? Once you read on, did your perception of their marriage change?
|
|
19
|
212
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Beth keeps a favorite photograph in her purse of Bobby (p. 123). Do you think this helped or hurt her healing? Do you keep a photo of a loved one with you at all times? Why or why not?
|
|
19
|
230
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What are your thoughts on the homesteading life we see among women of Kansas? Do you follow any of these traditional ways of living (making or repairing clothes, canning), or are there any aspects of that life you would like to adopt? If not, why?
|
|
13
|
113
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Nell and Emily ended up living in rural communities while Annie was determined to stay in the city. Why do you suppose the girls developed such different desires as they grew older? Do you consider yourself a country girl or a city girl
|
|
14
|
130
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Who did you think was guilty of killing the siblings? Did you believe Vincent could do it?
|
|
21
|
645
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Poppy is shown to be a fierce advocate of women and women’s rights. How do you think that affected her decisions throughout the book? Did she take risks she shouldn’t have?
|
|
8
|
66
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Which of the minor characters did you find the most intriguing, and why?
|
|
4
|
93
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What do you think is holding back Kit in her relationship with Max?
|
|
8
|
108
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
The girls’ mother tells Helen to not worry about her father (“There’s no need to borrow trouble. I’m sure your father is fine” p. 242). Why do you suppose she was so complacent? What would you have done, if anything, had you been in her place?
|
|
5
|
78
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
The novel explores some mysteries about the Bayeux Tapestry. Do you think it matters whether we find definitive answers to those questions, such as who created it and why?
|
|
5
|
96
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Overall, what did you think of The Tapestry of Time? (no spoilers, please!)
|
|
17
|
190
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Which of the four sisters (Kit, Ivy, Helen and Rose) do you identify with most, and why?
|
|
11
|
114
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
How do you feel historical fiction can influence the way we look at history?
|
|
12
|
148
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
To what audience would you recommend The Tapestry of Time? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
|
|
9
|
124
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What did you think of Evelyn’s approach to the war (“transactional resistance,” in her words), whereby she gives the Nazis information in exchange for protection/papers for her friends?
|
|
10
|
105
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Mr. Yardley tells Helen about a “feminine impulse to warn and to guide…going back to the oldest times” (p.154). Do you think it’s true that women are more likely to fill this role than men? Why or why not?
|
|
8
|
85
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
In an age when we can digitize everything, do you think it is still important to preserve physical art and artifacts in times of war?
|
|
17
|
120
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Kit believes that the Nazis “need a history they can believe in…a history that tells the story they want it to tell” (p. 9). How did you feel about her opinion here? Do you think this was an important part of the control they had over their population?
|
|
9
|
70
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Throughout the novel, Beth is confronted with the woman she once was versus the woman she has become. What do you think the author is saying about identity, particularly how it is shaped by love, grief and time?
|
|
7
|
123
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Jackson wonders if his adversary is “Saint Teresa or a cunning thief” (p.77). What did you think of the thief’s character? Were any of their actions justified?
|
|
1
|
52
|
November 13, 2025
|
|
Does this book reflect today's current political climate? Why or why not?
|
|
29
|
321
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
How much do you know about your own family's history during WWII?
|
|
14
|
108
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What’s your opinion about the existence of clairvoyance? Have you experienced anything similar?
|
|
11
|
101
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Kit thinks, “[This guard] has a gun and he believes in it, just as he believes women shouldn’t smoke or wear trousers...His Paris is not her Paris, but his Paris snakes through hers, unavoidable” (p.30). What did you think about her observations?
|
|
3
|
60
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What weakness(es) in the writing of the book, if any, bothered you a bit?
|
|
3
|
99
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Overall, what did you think of The Ghostwriter? (no spoilers, please!)
|
|
38
|
390
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
Emily’s mother keeps the pamphlet about Kansas with a dream of going there one day, and Emily shares her sense of destiny to move there. Why do you suppose this is? Where do you most long to visit, or move to? Is there a place you're pulled toward?
|
|
11
|
137
|
September 3, 2025
|
|
What was your response to Emily and Henry’s decision to leave Kansas? In their place, would you have left sooner, later, or not at all? What would you like to see happen to Dorothy, Emily, and Henry next?
|
|
21
|
122
|
September 3, 2025
|