Book Club Discussion Questions for Shadows in our Bones

1. If you were to discover that your heritage was different than what you’d always been told, how do you think you would react?
2. What differences do you see between race relations then (1900) and now?
3. Why does Mitch seek out and court Georgia?
4. Did you see the marriage between Linda and Ken as a hopeful salute to the future?
5. How did Marcus escape the measles?
6. Why do you believe Jonathan, a man of his time, was such a free-thinker? Possible ideas might  be that the early loss of his first wife created empathy, that he was widely traveled, or perhaps because his first wife was from the south.
7. How would a missionary of today differ from the Captain?
8. Discuss the work, and impact, of missionaries around the world.
9. What type of wedding dress did you wear/or dream of wearing? Would you wear your wedding gown for six months?
10. Cora’s views on most issues differ greatly from her parents. Discuss how her views differ and why. Did your view differ from those of your parents? How do your children view the issues of today?  Is it different from your own?
11. Where did the Malagaites come from? Why did they choose to live together?
12. How do you think the title relates to the content of the book?
13.  Is it more/less/ same common today to wed someone eighteen years older? How do you think that age difference affects a marriage/family?
14. How have expectations for mixed race marriage changed? In society? Among your family and friends?
15. Have you done a DNA test? Why?
16. Why do you think Susan never looked in the box?
17. The advancements made by science have changed our lives and our beliefs in many ways. What do you see as some of these changes?
18. Does “scientific racism” still exist? Where? How is it used?

Book Club Food Ideas for Shadows in our Bones

Food mentioned in the book:

1. Twenty Bean Soup and Bread
2. Chicken Cacciatore
3. Tiramisu
4. Game – rabbit, deer, fox
5. Fish Soup
   1. Thin soup for the Malagaites
   2. Bouillabaisse for the Lanes
6. Lady Baltimore Cake
7. Cottage Pudding with Nutmeg
8. Menu from Lane Thanksgiving:
   1. “The gleaming white cloth was covered with dishes: roast pork, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, creamed cabbage, stewed corn, beet pickles, and two types of bread. All of this had been preceded by a meat soup, and in the kitchen an apple cake waited to be served with whipped cream, cheese, and coffee.”
9. Menu from Lane Christmas:
   1. “An elegant Yorkshire pudding accompanied the roast beef, and, much to Jack’s delight, the meal culminated in a flaming plum pudding.”