Out of respect for the growing phenomenon of Readers Groups proliferating all over the country, I compiled these questions, but not without expert advice. I would like to extend special thanks to Ms. Connie Salvayon, a generous and meticulous Pittsburgh librarian who runs many reader groups in her area. Feel free to copy and use these questions, with our compliments.
1. Mrs. Risk habitually meddles into other people's lives. In the first chapter, for instance, she took Rachel's fate into her own hands. What do you think of Mrs. Risk's meddling?
2. Although the reality of Rachel's situation was clear to Mrs. Risk's discerning eyes, she did not inform the police. Why did she not call the police?
3. Do Mrs. Risk's bold actions on behalf of those she counts as friends feel to you like the way friends should behave towards each other? Would a bit of Mrs. Risk's boldness be a good thing to incorporate into your own friendships?
4. Borscht Belt humor, sometimes characterized as 'kitchen humor' (as opposed, for instance, to bathroom humor) seems to find universal appeal among many segments of our society. Why, then, does it seem to be disappearing from our entertainment landscape? Is the demise of the Borscht Belt's decidedly Jewish ethnic humor a sign of an increasing assimilation of Jews at large?
5. Betrayal figures large in the Borscht Pearl's plot. "Loss of love" has often been characterized as the worst fear among all fears one can face (other than, for some people, death). Do you equate betrayal as a loss of another's love? Or does betrayal stir up in you feelings of self-righteous anger instead?
6. In what way does fear-fear of anything, not just betrayal-affect one's life choices? Can you think of any parallels on a larger scale in today's political climate?
7. Near the end of the book, as she muses alone outside of the resort, Rachel bitterly declaims forgiveness and forgetting as a ruse to allow the perpetrator to shrug off responsibility for his/her own actions rather than to bring a victim comfort. How do you view her opinion?
8. The Borscht Pearl pays loving homage to a |
sentimental type of humor. It seems like comedians today, to achieve success, must make their humor woundingly sharp and often obscene. Do you think this change is a comment on our changing society?
9. The Borscht Pearl deals a lot with relationships and the differing kinds of love we bear each other. What do you think the examples of Pearl and her close-knit group of friends and also Mrs. Risk's attitude about friendship say about the notion of "family?"
10. Behind all the conflicts of the book weaves the thread of blood-sisterhood in its sometimes complex forms. Why do these ties often remain strong, even beneath an appearance of having been severed? In what way do those of you without blood-sisters feel puzzled by such strong attachment?
11. Memories of past events drive Pearl's choices in her life. At some point, however, without even informing her closest friends, she sets the past aside and begins anew. What do you think drove her to stop allowing the past to determine her present and instead opt to let a new and different future take over?
12. In question 11, we referred to Pearl. Now apply the same question to Bella. What happened to her to compel her to cut off the past's influence on her life and opt for a different present based on a new, deliberately chosen future?
13. In the final scene, Rachel is warmed and lifted from the devastating events by evidence of Mrs. Risk's firm friendship for her. Is it true that loss of love is the most devastating fear in our pantheon of fears? |
