Reading Group Guide
1. Is religion treated positively in this novel? Negatively?
Neither? Both? How?
2. Does the novel seem to end too soon? Why or who not?
3. What is your opinion of the manner in which Mattie Rigsbee,
standing before several “ghosts,” makes her decision to take in Wesley Benfield.
4. Do you know people who remind you of Mattie Rigsbee?
If so, what are their shared characteristics?
5. The novel is over one-third finished when one of the main characters, Wesley Benfield, is introduced. Does this delayed entry seem to detract from or enhance the plot structure, and how?
6. How would you interpret, psychologically, Mattie’s need to feed people?
7. Do you think Mattie did a good job raising her children?
Why?
8. How would you describe Mattie’s relationship with her church?
9. At one point in the story, Mattie speaks of marrying Wesley.
Is this her idea of a joke? A sign of senility or stroke? All of the above? Neither?
10. Would this book be appropriate for high school readers?
Why?
11. In two sentences say what you think this book is about.
12. What are issues in this book that divide and will continue to divide generations in the foreseeable future?
13. How does food play a part in your upbringing?