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Marjorie asked this question about West With Giraffes:
Do you think there are enough issues for a good book club discussion?
S Anderson My book club met this week and these were “Our”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Woody’s interactions with the staff vary greatly as he is writing his story.
What …moreMy book club met this week and these were “Our”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Woody’s interactions with the staff vary greatly as he is writing his story.
What do you think is different about Rosie, the nurse’s aide that Woody had told parts of his story to already?

Woody begins his journals with the line
“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes, one that didn’t kick me dead and one that saved my worthless orphan life and your worthy precious one.”
Are animals truly capable of being friends with humans?

Woody is writing his story in 2025, a few years in the future from the present day.
If you had the chance to meet him today what parts of his adventure would you ask him to expand upon?

Woody repeatedly addresses “You” in his thoughts while writing his memoir.
Were you surprised at the revelation of “You’s” identity?
How do you think “You” reacted after receiving the notebooks the VA liaison sent to the San Diego Zoo?
Is it likely that “You” already had knowledge about the giraffe’s trip across the county?

During their twelve day road trip Woody Nickel finds a kindred spirit in Riley Jones AKA “The Old Man.”
What factors contributed to their bond and how did Woody mature under “The Old Man’s” guidance?

Why do you think “The Old Man” was not as racist as most people in the country were during that time period?

Twenty-one year old Augusta “Red” Lowe and seventeen year old Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Nickel are about the same age but in different stages of their lives. She is a young adult married to a much older man while he is a teenager out on his own.
What traits do they share and how realistic are the goals each of them set for themselves?
Did Woody and Red have enough in common to build a life together after their road adventure ended?

Red lists four famous women that she’d like to meet on her “Things I’m Doing Before I Die” list (AKA a Bucket List).
Are there any celebrities that you would include if you created a list of your own?

Do you have any theories about how Red managed to keep evading the law while driving a distinctive green Packard?

When Woody pressed her in 1938 Red told him that her feelings for her husband were between the two of them. When he tracks down Lionel Lowe after the war he realizes that Lionel did indeed love Red.
Do you think that Red returned Lionel’s love before her adventure or was she trapped after using him to escape her “bad situation?”
How might their relationship have changed when she returned?

Do you feel that circuses and zoos exploit animals for our entertainment?

Many zoos work to preserve species threatened with extinction through cooperative breeding programs.
Have cases of surplus animals being euthanized simply because their DNA is already well represented in those programs influenced your feelings about visiting or supporting zoos?
(e.g. In 2014 Marius, a healthy two year old giraffe in Copenhagen, was shot and dissected in front of zoo visitors before his body was fed to the lions despite many offers to save him from other zoos (including one that had his older brother) and private individuals.)

This novel was inspired by real events.
Did Lynda Rutledge help bring the story to life by including the newspaper excerpts?

If you’ve read Sarah Gruen’s “Water For Elephants” how would you compare the two stories?(less)
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Judy Shaughnessy Thank you for these questions. they're excellent. It looks like the publisher did not post any on their website. ...more
Jun 23, 2022 05:41PM · flag
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West With Giraffes
by Lynda Rutledge (Goodreads Author)
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