Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, V.E. Schwab and Queer Vampire Storytelling and our BookBrowse Review of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. From Spain (sixteenth century) and Italy (seventeenth century) to England (nineteenth and twentieth centuries), Paris in 1914, and contemporary Scotland and America, the novel transports us to a dazzling array of moments in the human experience, in sumptuous detail. Which time and place—and wardrobe—would you most want to slip into?
2. As you watched Maria's childhood unfold, what did she do in order to gain even a smidgen of control over her life, no matter how strict the cultural limitations were? How would you have fared in that world?
3. When Hector introduces Sabine to the verses that begin with "Bury my bones in the midnight soil," he insists that "we are no monster, no mean thing. We are nature's fi nest fl ower" (Sabine's fi rst scenes, chapter III). Is this true? What beauty can be found in the characters' seemingly savage quest for survival?

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