Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Maya & Natasha by Elyse Durham

1. Being abandoned by their mother affected both Maya and Natasha deeply, but in different ways. How did their tragic beginning shape each of them as individuals?
2. Both Maya and Natasha wonder if they've gone too far to ask for forgiveness. What do you think? Is there a point at which it's too much—or too late—to ask for forgiveness?
3. Facing life as artists under a totalitarian regime, Maya and Natasha take opposite approaches: Natasha tries to make the best of where she is, and Maya defects to have more freedom. If you were in their situations, which would you choose?
4. In Natasha's heart of hearts, do you think she really wanted to be a dancer, or did she just want to be famous? What motivates her ambition?
5. Fate often comes up in this novel. How did Maya's perception of her fate (and her struggle against it) shape her actions?
6. Maya and Natasha's relationship goes through many changes over the course of this story. What kind of connection do they have by the book's end?
7. Many of the characters in this novel—for instance, Khrushchev, Kennedy, and George Balanchine—were inspired by people from history. How did that affect your reading of the story? Why do you think the author chose to include real-life people?
8. One question the novel wrestles with is whether an artist's beautiful work can help counterbalance poor choices in their personal life. Do you think this is true? Or does a disastrous personal life eliminate any goodness an artist's work brings to the world?
9. Who do you think Maya and Natasha's father is? Would it change their lives if they knew their father's identity?
10. In what way are the characters in Maya & Natasha shaped by the Soviet world in which they live? What seemed unique to you about what they value and the way they see the world? Did the characters' worldviews feel more or less like your own?

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