1. Show which women in the novel derive their primary identity from the men with whom they are associated and which women achieve self-identity.

2. Study the inset stories within the novel and decide what each adds to the ongoing themes within the larger story.

Pay particular attention to the stories of Jakob Daw and Channah Chandal.

3. In many ways this novel is a child's lament for the loss of both mother and father, even though the mother does not die. Discuss the stages of loss, abandonment, and grief experienced by Davita.

How does she regain her "lost" mother and reconcile herself to the death of her father?

4. Describe the experiences and characteristics Davita displays that make her very different from most children who grow up in twentieth-century America.

5. List the central conflicts between Jewish and non-Jewish culture described in the novel...