Heather's comments (member since Apr 15, 2009)

Heather's comments from the Osceola Library System group.

Here are some questions to start a discussion:

1. How do you feel about Jin’s decision to leave Korea? What do you think that you might have done in her place? How do you regard the various decisions she made after learning the truth about her fiancé in Hawai'i

2. How would you interpret the poem by Hwang Chini on page 26 within the context of the story?

3. Korea and Hawai'i were both small countries, in strategic locations, that came to be dominated by more powerful nations. In what other ways were the Korean and Hawaiian societies of the time both similar and different?

4. Compare and contrast the lives of a Korean kisaeng and an Iwilei prostitute.

5. How does the author weave real people and events into the lives of his fictional characters, and how do they contribute to your understanding of Jin’s circumstances? If you were already familiar with any of the historical figures, how do you view them after reading the novel? For example, the author is uncertain of May Thompson’s fate in real life—what do you think she might have done after leaving Honolulu? What do you think about the Governor’s decision to commute the sentences of Lt. Massie and the others convicted in Joe Kahahawai’s death?

6. How have Americans’ attitudes toward immigrants changed—or not changed—since the 1900s?

Honolulu

Here are some questions to get a discussion started:

Discussion Questions for HOMER & LANGLEY
Submitted by Random House Reader's Circle book clubs

1. There were several unusual sets of people who came into Homer and Langley's lives. Do you feel that Homer collected people the way that he collected objects? Why do you suppose that is or is not?
2. What do you think of Langley' s Theory of Replacements? Given today's 24-hour news environment in which historical context is rarely addressed, does Langley's theory and perspective have some merit?
3. Langley is obsessive in his quest to create one universal newspaper of "seminal events". What categories were used by Langley so that the newspaper would be "eternally current, dateless"? What categories would you add or change? Why?
4. What effect did the war have on Langley — did he come back mentally damaged along with his medical problems? How would the brothers' lives have been different if there had been no war?
5. Discuss the importance of Jacqueline in the story. Would the story have been as effective without this "muse"? Do you think she really existed?
Homer and Langley A Novel

Here are some questions to get the discussion started. Feel free to post some of your own!

1) When Claire first walks into Lillian’s, she reflects: “When was the last time she had been someplace where nobody knew who she was?” Is the anonymity of the kitchen a lure for Lillian’s students?


2) How did you respond to the story of Lillian’s upbringing? Would Lillian have been better off with a more traditional home life, like those of her school friends? Do you agree with Abuelita’s statement that “sometimes our greatest gifts grow from what we’re not given”?


3) Besides scenes from her childhood, the author discloses very little about Lillian. Why do you think she did this? How would the book be different if we knew more about Lillian’s day-to-day life?

I have just finished Erica Bauermeister's first novel The School of Essential Ingredients. If you like light, modern fiction, this is a truly "feel good" book.

This story is of Lillian, a chef and restuarant owner, who also runs a cooking school. We are introduced to her class and have glimpses into their lives; the heart-aches, mistakes and triumphs. Along the way we learn about food and how it affects the people who make it and those who eat it.