Eleanor loves meeting with book clubs, so if your club is interested in arranging a meeting, send her an email. Let us know the date and time, and we’ll figure out how best to connect, whether in person or by Skype or Google chat. Generally, book chats of 40 minutes work great, with five minutes before to get settled and five minutes after the discussion to wrap up. Eleanor has included a book club Discussion Guide below.
Discussion Guide for the Award-winning novel,
A Decent Woman
Possible Discussion Points:
- What was unique about the setting of the book? Did it enhance or take away from the story?
- What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think she is trying to get across to the reader?
- Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their problems? Do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
- How do Ana and Serafina change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?
- What do the events in the books reveal of the author’s world view?
- What is this book’s message?
- Did you like the characters? Who did you like or not like, and why?
- What did you think of the ending?
- In a movie version, who would play what parts?
- How did you feel when Ana met Jaime and the prostitutes, María and Emilia? When she met Agustín?
- How do you think Ana felt when she didn’t hear from Serafina for so many years? When they were reunited?
- What moral/ethical choices did the characters make? What did you think of those choices? How would you have chosen?
- How authentic is the culture or era represented in the book?
- Why do you think the author wrote this book?
- How do you think Ana’s point of view is similar or different from the author’s point of view or background?
- What is the author’s background (her style and focus)?
- How does the setting figure as a character in the story? Mother Nature as a character?
- Are the characters’ actions the result of freedom of choice, of destiny, or of the era?
- Is there any moral responsibility that was ignored by any of the characters?
- Are there any symbols that may have cultural or religious reference, e.g. religious icons, palm tree, pebbles?
- What type of feelings does the author evoke with her word choices and descriptions? Optimistic, pessimistic, prophetic, humorous?
- What effects do the events (time, physicality, nationality) have on the character’s self or personality?
Buy A Decent Woman
Eleanor Parker Sapia, AWA 