Jasper Fforde
Three separate interviews in which Jasper Fforde discusses the Thursday Next series, his Nursery Crime novels and Shades of Grey, the first in a trilogy set in a future world recognizable as our own - but only just.
Abraham Verghese
An interview with Abraham Verghese about his life and writing and in particular about his extraordinary 2009 novel Cutting for Stone, set in 1960s and '70s Ethiopia and 1980s New York.
Martha A Sandweiss
An interview with Martha Sandweiss in which she discusses her book Passing Strange, a biography of Clarence King who lived a double life—as the celebrated white explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a black Pullman porter named James Todd, married to Ada with whom he had five children.
Amy Greene
Amy Greene talks about her first novel, Bloodroot, which brings her native Appalachia—and the faith and fury of its people—to rich and vivid life.
Caution! It is likely that the following questions will reveal, or at least allude to, key plot details. Therefore, if you haven’t yet read this book, but are planning on doing so, you may wish to proceed with caution to avoid spoiling your later enjoyment.
From Xinran,
the bestselling author of The Good Women of China, comes Sky
Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet a deeply affecting tale about a
woman's thirty-year search for her husband in the isolated, hauntingly
beautiful land of Tibet.
Written with lyrical eloquence, Sky Burial is many things at
once--a love story, a mystery and a tale of adventure. The following
questions were written to help you and your reading group explore all
the different themes of this fascinating tale.
Discussion Questions
What is
a 'Sky Burial'? How does this differ from the traditional Western burial
methods?
Sky Burial is set in Tibet. How did this story open your eyes to
life in Tibet and how much did you know about this country before
reading the book?
Why did this Chinese woman --Shu-Wen, in her twenties--go to Tibet
in 1958? Why were the Chinese at war with the Tibetans?
Shu-Wen survived in Tibet for many, many years and began her
journey with no knowledge of Tibetan language, customs, culture and
religion? What does this say about her character? How do you think most
people react to such a foreign environment?
What surprised you about Shu-Wen's daily life in Tibet? How did
these things differ from Shu-Wen's life in China? How do these things
differ from your life?
After finding out what happened to Kejun what do you think of his
actions? Would you have made the same choice if faced with this
situation?
What changes did Shu-Wen find in her home town when she returned?
How did she react to them? At that point, do you think Shu-Wen
identified herself as Chinese or Tibetan?
Did Shu-Wen regret going to Tibet? If so, why? What point did the
author want to make through telling Shu-Wen's story?
Some would call Sky Burial a love story? Would you agree?
Sky Burial has been selected as a book used to study Chinese
history in Australia and it has been published in over 20 languages.
What makes this book different from other books on Tibet?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Anchor 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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Sky Burial
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