Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A Brief History of the U.S. Virgin Islands and our BookBrowse Review of Land of Love and Drowning.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
A major debut from an award-winning writer—an epic family saga set against the magic and the rhythms of the Virgin Islands.
In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them.
Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s,
Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author's own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers
and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs,
Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
About the Author
Tiphanie Yanique is from Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands. The author of the story collection
How to Escape from a Leper Colony, she is a 2010 Rona Jaffe Writers' Award winner and was named by the National Book Awards as one of 2011's "5 Under 35." She teaches at the New School and lives in Brooklyn and Saint Thomas.
Discussion Questions
- Land of Love and Drowning opens in 1917 on the cusp of St. Thomas's transfer from Danish rule to American. Why do you think Tiphanie Yanique has chosen to open her novel with this event? What is the significance of the transfer of power? What does "Americanness" mean to the characters? How does it change who they are? Does it also change how they relate to one another or how they relate to the Virgin Islands in general?
- Think about the meaning of land and property in Land of Love and Drowning. Who owns land? Who owns property? What does ownership mean to the different characters? Does the idea of ownership change over the course of the book?
- Anette and Eeona Bradshaw present two different ways of being a woman. Where Anette gives in to her desires, Eeona represses hers. Is there a reason they are so different in this way? How do you see these differences affecting the course of their lives?
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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 Riverhead 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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