An Olive Grove in Ends Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Bristol, England and our BookBrowse Review of An Olive Grove in Ends.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. What does the "house-atop-the-hill" represent to Sayon and his mother?
2. In Chapter 2, Sayon says "my mortality was as real to me as the soil I shovelled on to the aunts, uncles and cousins we buried…the funerals outnumbered even the weddings." How does his family history and their reputation in Ends impact his life as he comes of age?
3. Each chapter begins with an epigraph that is a verse from the Bible or the Quran, or a Jamaican proverb. Why do you think the author decided to do this, and how does it affect the reading experience for you?

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.