All Woman and Springtime Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Human Trafficking in North Korea and our BookBrowse Review of All Woman and Springtime.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The author has said in interviews and essays that All Woman and Springtime is about crossing boundaries of all kinds." What does he mean by that? What boundaries are crossed, and by whom?
2. The protagonist, Gyong-ho, is more commonly known as Gi, which is a nonsense syllable in both Korean and English. Why did the author choose this name? How does this name shape her as a character, and how does it add to or subtract from her personal development in the story?
3. Gi is fascinated by her best friend, Il-sun. Why? Why does this fascination begin to express itself as sexual desire? Does this speak to Gi's basic sexual orientation, or is there something else at play?

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