Book Discussion Questions:
- Did you like this book?
- What is the significance of the fictitious grandfather?
- Did you ever feel like you were reading a memoir or work of non-fiction?
- David wants to hear about his grandfather’s experiences firsthand.
- Why is it important for us to cultivate and preserve our oral histories?
- Do you have a relative or friend whose story you believe should be captured for posterity?
- From the cannibals in the market to the sex slaves in the farmhouse, there are numerous illustrations of the way in which war robs us of our humanity. In your opinion, what was the most poignant example of this and why?
- Why is Leningrad important?
- info about Leningrad: The siege of Leningrad was statistically important for the Nazis and the Soviets because Leningrad is one of the most important cultural hubs of Russia and the Soviet Union. Before 1917, Leningrad (then called St. Petersburg) was the capital of the Russian empire, and even though the capital was moved to Moscow, the Soviet government considered Leningrad one of the hearts of the Soviet revolution — hence its renaming to honor Vladimir Lenin. The Nazis, who saw Communism and Bolshevism as a direct threat (and also part of an alleged international Jewish conspiracy), were interested in taking Leningrad for both its strategic military importance and its power to break Soviet morale.
- What role does hunger serve in this story?
- Kolya tells Lev that the government should “put the famous on the front lines” (p. 67) rather than use them as the spokespeople for patriotic propaganda. Do you agree or disagree?
- Can you think of any contemporary instances of this practice?
- What is the tension between the city and the countryside?
- Do you think Markov’s denouncer should have remained silent about the partisan’s presence
- Did either of them deserve to die?
- Even moments before Lev pulls his knife on the Sturmbannführer, he thinks: “I had wanted him dead since I’d heard Zoya’s story. . . . [But] I didn’t believe I was capable of murdering him” (p. 228). Do you think everyone—given the right motivation—is capable of killing another human being? Could you?
- Lev takes an instinctive dislike to Kolya yet comes to consider him his best friend. What was the turning point in their relationship?
- Did you think the boys were actually going to be successful in finding the dozen eggs?
- Why did Koyla have to end up dieing?
- How important is the "frame" at the beginning of the novel where the writer introduces his grandparents and has the grandfather (Lev) begin telling his story? Would you have liked the book to come back to that frame at the end?
- What parts of the novel had the biggest emotional effect on you
- David Benioff wrote the screenplay for the films Wolverine, Brothers and the Kite Runner among others. He is the co-creator, writer and show runner for Game of Thrones.
- David is married to the actress Amanda Peet
