The Hours Count Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Julius and Ethel Rosenbergs' Children and our BookBrowse Review of The Hours Count.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. After Millie first meets Ethel, she idealizes her life and marriage. How are Millie and Ethel different? Similar? How does their friendship play out in each other's lives?
2. Does Millie's view of Ethel and this story change what you have thought or known about Ethel Rosenberg historically? What were your previous perceptions?
3. Millie and Ethel both make their children their top priority. Compare their roles as mothers in the 1940s and 1950s to what motherhood is like today. Do you think Ethel and Millie are good mothers?

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.