Questions

1. This introductory chapter opens with a reference to a “sign,” though Otsuka does not reveal its import. At the end of the first paragraph, do you as a reader have any idea what the sign is about or foretells? When do you begin to realize that something about this seemingly ordinary “sunny day in Berkeley in the spring of 1942” is definitely not ordinary?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - This introductory chapter opens with a reference to a “sign,” though Otsuka does not reveal its import. At the end of the first paragraph, do you as a reader have any idea what the sign is about or foretells? When do you begin to realize that something about this seemingly ordinary “sunny day in Berkeley in the spring of 1942” is definitely not ordinary?
2. The mother gives the family’s cat away and frees their pet bird, but she kills and buries the dog. Why? Why do you think Otsuka provides such a graphic description of the act?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - The mother gives the family’s cat away and frees their pet bird, but she kills and buries the dog. Why? Why do you think Otsuka provides such a graphic description of the act?
3. Otsuka juxtaposes everyday events, such as going to the hardware store, with strange, sometimes ominous details, such as stores “all over town” being “sold out of duffel bags” (par. 16). What other odd juxtapositions begin to alert the reader that something sinister is occurring or is about to occur?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - Otsuka juxtaposes everyday events, such as going to the hardware store, with strange, sometimes ominous details, such as stores “all over town” being “sold out of duffel bags” (par. 16). What other odd juxtapositions begin to alert the reader that something sinister is occurring or is about to occur?
4. After the children have gone to bed, the mother drinks plum wine and begins to laugh, “quietly at first, but soon her shoulders were heaving and she was gasping for breath” (par. 108). She laughs until she cries. What does this uncharacteristic behavior say about her state of mind at this point?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - After the children have gone to bed, the mother drinks plum wine and begins to laugh, “quietly at first, but soon her shoulders were heaving and she was gasping for breath” (par. 108). She laughs until she cries. What does this uncharacteristic behavior say about her state of mind at this point?
5. Instead of giving her characters specific names, Otsuka refers to them here (and throughout the novel) as “the woman,” “the girl,” “the boy,” and “the father.” How does this lack of a particular name affect your relationship to each character?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - Instead of giving her characters specific names, Otsuka refers to them here (and throughout the novel) as “the woman,” “the girl,” “the boy,” and “the father.” How does this lack of a particular name affect your relationship to each character?
6. How does the language—word choice and syntax—in this opening chapter of the novel contribute to the impression that the woman’s control over the situation at hand and her own emotions is precarious?

   Question

   ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=

   Questions: - How does the language—word choice and syntax—in this opening chapter of the novel contribute to the impression that the woman’s control over the situation at hand and her own emotions is precarious?