1. What is the meaning of the title?

2. Elaborate on some of the ways Mori seems hostile to Japanese culture?

3. How does Mori feel when she touches down on Japanese ground after twenty years?

4. Do you think that Mori derives any comfort from her Japanese culture?

5. Do you think that Kyoko will ever be able to have a relationship with her father?

6. What importance does Mori attribute to the landscape in telling her story?

7. How do you perceive the relationship between Kyoko and her husband?

8. What does Mori recognize about the relationship between her father and stepmother?