02.26.09
Courtesan: More Discussion Questions
I don’t know about you, but I got totally sucked into this book! I can’t wait to get together with you and hear what you have to say about it.
Here are some more questions from the back of my book:
8. Do you think Fiammetta was truly in love with Foscari? If you don’t how would you define their relationship? Was Bucino’s anger at this relationship justified?
9. What does sixteenth-century Venetian society have in common with our society today?
10. Why do Bucino and Fiammetta make such a good team? What makes them successful?
11. The picture on the cover of our book is a detail from a painting by Tiziano Vecellio (Titian). When you were reading the novel, did you form an image of Fiammetta that was based on this cover image, or did you make up your own image of her? If your own, can you describe it?
12. What predictions would you make about little Fiammetta’s future life? Do you think she’ll have the same profession as her namesake?
SEE you Friday morning! Bring any ideas for our next choice that you might have!
02.18.09
sounds good to me…… I haven’t reread it yet, but I think that I can contribute to the discussion.
I’ll try to get some reading in this weekend!
Discussion Questions – In the Company of the Courtesan
Here are a few discussion questions from the back of my book. These definitely helped me to see and think about this book in a new light:
1. In what ways does Courtesan seem historically accurate to you? What details about Renaissance Italy do you think came from the author’s imagination, and what aspects of it do you think are based on her historical research of the period?
2. Do you think a character like Fiammetta could exist in today’s world? What, if anything, is modern about her?
3. What did you think of Fiammetta’s relationship with her mother, and of her mother’s influence on her life?
4. Courtesan is told from Bucino’s perspective. Why do you think the author wrote it this way, rather than from Fiammetta’s point of view? What are the benefits of hearing the story and seeing Venice from Bucino’s standpoint? What are the limitations?
5. We tend to think of Fiammetta’s profession as one that is very hard on women; one that doesn’t make for a happy life. On the whole, do you consider Fiametta to be content or unhappy?
6. Did you find La Draga to be a likeable character? Did your view of her change as your reading progressed?
7. Is is accurate to describe Courtesan as a novel of “rebirth”? What are some other themes of this novel?
**More to follow!**
02.17.09
In the Company of the Courtesan
How about a meeting next week - Friday morning, February 27? Or do you want more time? Leave a comment and let me know! 
Hope you are enjoying the book – discussion questions to jumpstart your brains coming soon!
02.03.09
Time For a New Book!
Our next book, recommended by Gloria, will be In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant.
From the back of the book:
Escaping the sack of Rome in 1527, with their stomachs churning on the jewels they have swallowed, the courtesan Fiammetta and her dwarf companion, Bucino, head for Venice to start life anew. In the shimmering city born out of water to become a miracle of east-west trade, the two begin to rebuild their enterprise, and with a mix of courage and cunning they infiltrate Venetian society. Together they make the perfect partnership: the sharp-tongued, sharp-witted dwarf and his vibrant mistress, trained from birth to charm, entertain, and satisfy men who have the money to support her. Venice, however, is a city that holds its own temptations and dangerous secrets.
Sounds exciting, and Gloria says it’s “juicy!” I can’t wait to dive in!
Leave a comment when you get the book – hopefully we can meet in about a month? I will be posting questions for us to think about in a few days.
Happy Reading! Enjoy!
01.16.09
The Almost Moon: The Ending
How did you interpret the novel’s ending? Does Helen seek to atone or make amends for what she did? Do you envision some way for her to make things right?
The Almost Moon: Helen’s Parents
In many ways, Helen was closer to her father than to her mother. What does she mean, then, when she says, “My father had been pity to her blame, warmth to her cold, but had he not, in the end, been colder than she?” (page 277). How does her father’s death change the way Helen thinks of her parents’ marriage? Was he right to have stayed with Clair, or should he have left for Helen’s sake, if not for his own?
The Almost Moon: Helen and Jake
When Jake and Helen meet, he is her teacher and she is his muse. What causes them to drift apart and divorce? When he returns, they have very different perspectives on their breakup. Do you think one’s explanation is more accurate that the other’s? How has their relationship changed over the years?
The Almost Moon: Helen and Motherhood
At an early age, Helen willingly gives up her education to be a mother and wife. In what way does Helen’s relationship with Clair inform her choices as a mother? Do you think she is conscious of avoiding or repeating the mistakes of her own upbringing? Would her daughters say that she had been a good mother? Why do you think she is closer to Sarah than to Emily?
The Almost Moon: Helen’s father
In chapter 12, Helen’s father takes her to Lambeth, “the drowned town where he’d grown up” (page 95). What is the significance of the plywood people Helen sees in her father’s childhood home? Why does he select these particular moments of his life to commemorate? What does Helen learn about her father during this visit that she may not have known or confronted before?
