Children of the Jacaranda Tree Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Evin Prison and our BookBrowse Review of Children of the Jacaranda Tree.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

From Simon & Schuster: This reading group guide for Children of the Jacaranda Tree includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Introduction

Set in post-revolutionary Iran from 1983 to 2011, Children of the Jacaranda Tree follows a group of mothers, fathers, children, and lovers whose lives are forever changed by the Iranian Revolution and its aftermath.

1. Delijani's gorgeous novel is based, at least partially, on the author's own experiences - she was born in Iran in 1983 - and the stories of her family and friends who lived through the Revolution. How are we to read her interpretation of the events that she describes? Can an author ever separate her own story from the fictional world she creates? Should she? How does our own history and upbringing affect how we as readers interpret what we read?
2. The capital city Tehran is the backdrop for much of the action in this story, and is in some ways almost a character on its own. And yet some characters are drawn to the city, against all odds and in the face of all logic, while others are lured away from it, for education, for safety, for reasons they can't explain. How does proximity to the city affect the decisions different characters make? In what ways does landscape shape who we become?
3. The characters we meet throughout this book often don't immediately seem to be connected, but it is slowly revealed how intricately intertwined their stories are and how each of their experiences brings them close to each other as if they were a family. In what ways is this like real life? How is it different? How do you think history plays a role in creating bonds between people that otherwise will not have existed?

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