Blackbird House Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Name: Blackbird House
Rating: 4.0 (3 reviews)
Author: Alice Hoffman
ISBN: 9780385507615

Blackbird House

by Alice Hoffman

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Critics' Consensus (3):

Readers' Rating (8):

First Published:
Jul 1, 2004, 240 pages

Paperback:
Mar 2005, 256 pages

X
- Short Stories
- USA
- New England, USA
- Mass.
- Across The Centuries
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Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

In a rare and gorgeous departure, beloved novelist Alice Hoffman weaves a web of tales all set in Blackbird House. This small farm on the outer reaches of Cape Cod is a place that is as bewitching and alive as the characters we meet: Violet, a brilliant girl who is in love with books and with a man destined to betray her; Lysander Wynn, attacked by a halibut as big as a horse, certain that his life is ruined until a boarder wearing red boots arrives to change everything; Maya Cooper, who does not understand the true meaning of love between her mother and father until it is nearly too late. From the time of the British occupation of Massachusetts to our own modern world, family after family’s lives are inexorably changed not only by the people they love, but by the lives they lead inside Blackbird House.

The questions that follow are designed to enhance your discussion and personal reading of Blackbird House.

Abandonment and loss are important themes in Blackbird House. In what ways do the characters deal with these issues? Which characters are similar in their responses? What other themes do the stories have in common?

In the first story, Coral sees several signs of impending doom. What are they? How does the return of the (now white) blackbird confirm her worst fears? What does the white crow symbolize throughout the other tales?

What other images from nature does Alice Hoffman use throughout Blackbird House? What do they represent?

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How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Ballantine Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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