Discussion Questions: American Marriage, The Leavers, Good Riddance

Discussion Questions for Good Riddance

Explore the motif of truth. Why does Holly accuse Daphne of not wanting to go near the truth? Do you think that her assessment is correct? Where in the book do readers find evidence either refuting or supporting this? What other characters are caught between truth and lies? What motivates the characters to say things that are not true? Does truth ultimately prevail?

What does the book suggest about the topic of ownership? How is ownership determined? How does ownership apply to art and to storytelling? Do you think that Geneva had a right to the yearbook and the stories that it contained? Why or why not?

What are some of the questions that were raised by the annotated yearbook? Are any of these questions answered at the story’s conclusion? What ultimately becomes of the yearbook?

Discussion Questions for An American Marriage

In her “Dear John” letter to Roy, Celestial says, “I will continue to support you, but not as your wife.” What do you think she means by this statement? Do you feel that Roy is wrong to reject her offer?

There are two father figures in Roy’s life: Big Roy is the one who shepherded him into adulthood and helped him grow into a responsible, capable person, but Walter is the one who taught Roy how to survive. Do you feel these men deserve equal credit? If not, which was the more important figure in Roy’s life and why?

Do you think that Andre strategized to get Celestial to fall in love with him, or did it happen naturally? Do you feel that it was a surprise to them that it happened after all those years? Do you predict that Celestial’s parents will come to accept Andre as her life partner?

Discussion Questions for The Leavers

How would you describe Deming when he arrives back in the U.S. as a six-year-old? What kind of family do Polly and Leon provide for Deming and Michael? What kind of life do they lead in the Bronx? Consider Polly's job in the nail salon. 

Deming is utterly bewildered by his mother's disappearance. Talk about the effect it has on him as he grows into adolescence and young adulthood? Consider this observation: "If he held everyone at arm’s length, it wouldn’t hurt as much when they disappeared." Or this one: "He had eliminated the possibility of feeling out of place by banishing himself to no place." 

 Lisa Ko says the novel was inspired by a 2009 New York Times article about an undocumented immigrant from China who spent 18 months in detention. She had been arrested at a bus station on the way to Florida for a new job. Does knowing that the novel has its roots in a true story have any impact on how you understand it?

Comments

[Tiffany]

I am reading An American Marriage. This book is very very good. I feel true to life what you see on TV. My answers to these questions are 1) Celestial is basically wanting to move on with her life. She has found what she feels is real love with Andre who treats her like she wants to be treated. I feel that Celestial never really loved Roy. She still feels for him but only as a friend now, but I feel the love for Roy from Celestial is still there, and she feels she needs to help him till he gets out of jail..... 2) With Roy finding his real father in prison, that I guess is great, but not good. Imagine if he had grown up around Walter he may of ended up in jail, just not by unforeseen circumstance. Big Roy is his father, the man that raised him right, to be respectful and understanding to what he needs to prioritize in his life. Roy really needs to show Big Roy that he is very important in his life, he has always been there, walked by his side, showed him the love a father should give to his son. Walter he just showed him the ropes b/c I feel he was in there together, the same cell, the same routine everyday." Get this kid on my side and he will take care of me " the way I feel that Walter would answer. Show Big Roy all the love, but give Walter thanks for getting him through the "inside"...
3) Andre...…… all I can say is he knew what he was doing from the time he was old enough to love. He is out for himself and he has moved in on his friends wife, and in the weakest part of her life, and the lowest part of her life. If there is any chance for possibly Celestial and Roy to make a go at anything she needs to see Andre for who he really is, maybe...…….

[Kristen]

I decided to read Good Riddance. As a side note I had previously read An American Marriage and really enjoyed it.

What does the book suggest about the topic of ownership? How is ownership determined? How does ownership apply to art and to storytelling? Do you think that Geneva had a right to the yearbook and the stories that it contained? Why or why not?
- Ownership is tricky, Daphne was the owner of the yearbook but it was clear she never thought that anything would happen to it after she threw it out. But once Geneva claimed it Daphne still felt like she had ownership of it. I thought it was interesting that Daphne kind of changed her mind about whether or not she was ok with Geneva using the stories and ultimately allowed Jeremy to turn the stories into a production. I do think that once the yearbook was thrown out that Geneva had a right to it but I completely understand Daphne's reluctance to let her ownership go even though she had thrown it out.


What are some of the questions that were raised by the annotated yearbook? Are any of these questions answered at the story’s conclusion? What ultimately becomes of the yearbook?
- I actually thought this book was going to go in a different direction and we would actually read about all of the students of the school and what they were up to and how that compared to when they were in high school. I think that would have been an interesting read. Some of the questions were answered but I would have liked to have known more about why Daphne's mom felt the need to label the students the way that she did. Ultimately with the (somewhat violent) destruction of the yearbook all of the questions are kind of gone with it.