1. Yuki often remembers her mother Shizuko through smells and colors. Describe some of the occasions in Chapter 9 in which Yuki recalls her mother due to these sensory catalysts.

2. Why does Mr. Kimura marry Aya? Why does he believe that his reason is not an inappropriate one?

3. What does Shizuko wish that she had done differently on the day she decides to take her life?

4. At the end of Chapter 12, Yuki decides that she must move on and leave behind empty spaces. To what is she referring?

5. What event changes Yuki's temperament and attitude toward her grandparents during her visit in March 1972?

6. At the beginning of Chapter 7, why is Masa disappointed in Yuki?

7. Why does Yuki feel like she must go to a college that is far away from her parents?

8. What is the difference between how Yuki's grandmother keeps a house and how Yuki's stepmother keeps a house?

9. Why does her Aunt Aya compliment Yuki on the day of the wake?

10. Why is Yuki smiling at the end of Chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explore the mother-daughter relationships in the novel.

Part 1) Describe Shizuko's relationship with Yuki.

Part 2) Is Shizuko a traditional Japanese mother? Why or why not? In what way is Shizuko a role model to her daughter?

Part 3) Compare and contrast Yuki's relationship with Shizuko to Yuki's relationship with her stepmother Hanae.

Part 4) Compare and contrast Yuki's relationship with Shizuko with Sachiko's relationship with her mother, Mrs. Murai.

Essay Topic 2

At the end of the book, there is an uplifting sense of hope and optimism for the future. How does this contrast with the tonality at the beginning of the novel? Has the change been slow and gradual, or does the emotive quality break free of its chains within a single instance? If so, what triggers the change? Explore the tonality of the novel from beginning to end through the voice of Yuki.