This Other Eden Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Malaga Island Eviction of 1912 and our BookBrowse Review of This Other Eden.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. A major theme of Paul Harding's This Other Eden is kinship—honored, chosen, enforced, cherished, perverted, and otherwise. How do the dynamics of kinship change throughout the novel and what does kinship mean for Harding's characters?
2. Rather than beginning the novel with the current generation of Honeys, Esther and Eha, Harding opens with the story of their ancestors, Irish-born Patience and formerly enslaved Benjamin, who first arrived on the island more than a century earlier. How does Harding weave together the different generations and storylines to explore the interconnectedness of his characters, past and present?
3. Consider this interconnectedness across generations. What might Harding be saying about belonging and identity in relation to family, history, and storytelling?

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