Book Club Thu May 15 2008
The Grass Dancer Discussion Questions
Here are just a few sample discussion questions for our upcoming meeting to talk about The Grass Dancer by Susan Power.
1. Why is the book titled The Grass Dancer? Who is the true grass dancer in this book?
2. What role does Pumpkin play in Harley's life?
3. How does Margaret Many Wounds' idea of walking on the moon differ from NASA's?
4. Is Anna/Mercury Thunder a villain or a heroine?
5. Susan Power dedicates the book to her grandmothers, who gave her the "keys to two cities." How do the characters in the novel live between these two cities—one Native American and the other white?
6. What role does the modern world play in the novel?
7. How does Power's choice of using multiple points of view affect the story?
8. Why does Power tell this story in the order she does? How does the reverse chronological order influence the story?
9. A lot of this novel deals with memory. What happens when we forget the past?
10. Is The Grass Dancer a work of "magic realism"? Why or why not?
Remember our May meeting is this Monday, May 19 at The Book Cellar, starting at 7:30pm. Hope to see you there.
- Alice Maggio
Bigger Thomas is a young black man in 1940s Chicago who accidentally kills Mary, the daughter of the wealthy, white Dalton family, for whom he works as a chauffeur. Bigger's attempts to preserve his innocence go horribly awry when the public and the press decide his guilt even before he is caught and tried.
Denise Fri May 16 2008, 6:22AM +
Wow. You're reading The Grass Dancer? That is fantastic, and also shocking!
I have had that book on my shelf for years and years. I've let people borrow it and always made sure to get it back. I loved it. I would love to read it again.
And it is very rare for me to find people who have read it.
Awesome.
I wish my copy wasn't packed for my impending move from Florida to Illinois.
Sally Iberg Sun May 18 2008, 10:49AM +
Sorry I can't join the group for this discussion. The story telling was wonderful. I don't care for the shift to 1st person (shades of "As I lay dying" and "The Poisonwood bible". In this case I appreciated the varying personal perspectives it offered. Makes it more difficult for me to label the protagonist and antagonist. Woe is me.
Sally