The Pull of the Stars Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The 1918 Flu Pandemic and our BookBrowse Review of The Pull of the Stars.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. During the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, many people referred to the 1918 Spanish flu as a touchpoint. What was your awareness of the 1918 flu before the 2020 pandemic? How important is an understanding of history when we deal with similar crises in the present?
2. Julia and the other health workers face many challenges, including lack of supplies, misinformation, and sexism. Which of those challenges were unique to Julia's time and place? To what extent do our health-care workers face the same challenges today?
3. Throughout The Pull of the Stars, Julia notices government placards with public health warnings and advice. Why do you think Emma Donoghue included them in the novel? Were your government's efforts to communicate with the general public during the coronavirus pandemic similar to those in the novel, or different?

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