(adapted from Simon and Schuster reading guide)

INTRODUCTION

Set on four continents, the five stories collection are about memory, the source of meaning and coherence in our lives, the fragile thread that connects us to ourselves and others. . . . Every story in Memory Wall is a reminder of the grandeur of life—of the mysterious beauty of seeds, of fossils and fish, of clouds and radios and leaves, of the breathtaking fortune of living in this universe.

TOPICS & QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. The characters in Anthony Doerr's stories are different ages, live on four different continents, and have diverse life experiences. How are they similar? Which universal themes about memory are contained in each story?

2. In the story "Memory Wall," memories can literally be found in cartridges that are produced at the memory clinic. What other manifestations do memories take throughout the stories, both physical and otherwise?

3. Given the subjective nature of recollections, how accurate or true-to-life do you think the memories that have been implanted in Alma's cartridges are? Do you think the cartridges are ultimately helpful to Alma? Do they bring her happiness? Can the erasure of memories in old age ever be avoided?

4. On page 42 Alma tells Pheko, "To say a person is a happy person or an unhappy person is ridiculous. We are a thousand different kinds of people every hour." Do you agree? Do the various items on Alma's memory wall support her claim? How do the items on Alma's memory wall create a narrative for her life?

6. Alma was perplexed by Harold's interest in fossils, yet she goes to great lengths to hold on to her memories. What do you think drew Harold to the study and collection of fossils? How are fossils like human memories? How does nature as a whole contain remembrances of our collective past?

7. Alma is a product of a society that for generations upheld the laws and prejudices of apartheid. Do you feel any kind of sympathy for Alma? Why or why not?

8. In "Procreate, Generate," both Imogene and Herb desperately want to have a child. In the context of memory, why do you think having a baby is so important to them? Particularly to Imogene?

9. In the soldier's mind in "The Demilitarized Zone," life at home goes on as usual while he is deployed in Korea. How do his impressions of home differ from the reality of his parents' estrangement? How might the soldier's experiences in Korea match up or diverge with his grandfather's memories of his own time there?

10. The planned submersion of the village in "Village 113" promises to obliterate memories of an entire way of life. On page 135, Li Qing writes to his mother, "You don't have to remain loyal to one place all your life." How much does place matter in the keeping of traditions? What are some ways to prevent this destruction of the village's collective memories, even after the dam has been built and its inhabitants have moved away?

11. On page 151 of "Village 113", the seed keeper thinks, "What is a seed if not the purest kind of memory, a link to every generation that has gone before it?" Discuss this metaphor of a seed as a link to the past.

12. What do you think the sturgeon represents in "The River Nemunas"? Why is it so important for Allison to catch one and to convince her grandfather that they can still be found in the river?

13. Esther's epileptic fits in "Afterworld" allow her to revisit the ghosts of her past in the present, prompting her to think that "Maybe not every disease is a deficit, a taking away. Maybe what's happening to her is an opening, a window, a migration." (p. 224) Do you agree? Do you think her spells allow her to finally find closure and move past her survivor's guilt?

14. On the final page of Memory Wall, the author writes, "Every hour, Robert thinks, all over the globe, an infinite number of memories disappear, whole glowing atlases dragged into graves. But during that same hour children are moving about, surveying territory that seems to them entirely new." How does this quote apply to the stories in this collection?

“Memory Wall Reading Group Guide.” Simon & Schuster Canada. Simon & Schuster. N.d. Web. 24 Oct 2011. http://books.simonandscchuster.ca/Memory-Wall/Anthony-Doerr/9781439182802/reading_group_guide.

Welcome, patrons, to the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Pageturners Book Club. Pageturners Book Club meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month* at 10:15 AM in the Heritage Room. You are welcome to attend as often as you wish and to enter the discussion or just listen. Dates, titles, and discussion leaders are listed below.

Copies of the books and accompanying discussion questions are available at the Research and Information desk. Check the web site for updated information: www.cdalibrary.org. Questions? Call or e-mail David Townsend: 769-2315, ext. 426  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

Date      Title/Author      Discussion Leader      Genre

Nov. 17  Memory Wall, Anthony Doerr      Fran Bahr      Fiction

*December      No Book

Jan. 25       Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer       Lloyd Duman      Nonfiction                                                                                                                      

Feb. 22     Little Heathens, Mildred Kalish      Denise Clark      Nonfiction   

March 28      Oranges, John McPhee      George Ives      Nonfiction          

April 25      The Lost Painting, Jonathan Harr      Virginia Johnson      Nonfiction

May 23      The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Oliver Sacks      Ernie Fokes      Nonfiction

June 27            Summer reading: Best Beach Read               Club Members            

July 25      Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh      Patrick Query      Fiction                                                                                                                

Aug. 22      In the Garden of the Beasts, Erik Larsen      Beverly Moss      Nonfiction

Sept. 26  Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury      David Townsend      Science Fiction                                                                                                                                              

Oct. 24      Title by the Idaho Humanities Council Distinguished Lecturer

(READING REFLECTIONS FOR PAGETURNER READERS)

1.  When did you first read TKM?  How was re-reading it different from your first experience with the book?  How do you account for this?
2.  There are a number of plot lines: the Boo Radley story, the Tom Robinson case, the maturing of Jem and of Scout.  Has Harper Lee created an adequately unified story?  If so, what gives unity to her novel?
3.  Young readers are often bored by Chapter 24, the missionary tea.  What is Lee's purpose in this chapter?
4.  Compare/contrast TKM to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Montana 1948. 
5.  There has been speculation that Harper Lee was influenced by the 1930’s Scottsboro Boys case.  What do you know about this case?
6.  Admiration of Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson inspired a whole generation of future lawyers.  Others, however, see his actions differently and have criticized him for not objecting to the prosecutor's open racism, for appealing to class prejudice in his questioning of Mayella on the witness stand,  and for generally going along with the times.--  Calpurnia rides in the back seat when he drives her home, he isn't sure if women should be on juries, he doesn't think the KKK is very threatening, etc.  How do you judge this character that has become an icon in our culture?
7.  #8 on the Four Season in Rome list:  Find a particular passage that moves, interests, puzzles, or even offends you that you would be willing to share with the group.(Thank you Fran Bahr for this very fine investigative guide).
8.  The much acclaimed movie TKM omits Uncle Jack, Aunt Alexandra, the two school teachers, Dolphus Raymond and  Link Deas.  What is the significance of these characters in the novel?(I must admit Gregory Peck is Atticus in my mental images of the novel).
9.  What insight does Harper Lee offer into the times? into prejudice?  What relevancy does the book have to America in 2011?
10. Of the many themes in the book, which one or ones do you want to bring to our discussion together?  EDUCATION, RELIGION, RACISM, COMING OF AGE,YOUTH, MORALITY & ETHICS, JUSTICE & JUDGEMENT, FEAR, FAMILY , COMPASSION & FORGIVENESS, INNOCENCE.

The Pageturners Library Book Club will discuss this book on Wednesday, Oct. 26, at 10:15 a.m. in the Community Room. Discussions are open to all adult readers. There is no charge and no registration.