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The Memories We Keep
Walter Zacharius
Discussion Questions
1. In Chapter 1, Mia describes giving up her beloved music practice. Is she just going through a normal adolescent "stage," or are there larger forces at work behind her renouncement?
2. On page 53, Mia describes herself walking "…stiffly out the door, down the stairs, and into the street, just as the golem do." Why does Mia compare herself to the golem—a symbolic "monster" from Jewish mythology?
3. Mr. Levy trades a cache of diamonds to a hospital administrator for what he hopes will be safe passage for the family. Instead, the Levys are forced on a train bound for a concentration camp. Why does the theme of betrayal rear its ugly head so often in the novel?
4. Though Wolf was once a heroic figure for her, Mia eventually realizes that "…for all his brains and courage, he lived in a little boy's world of black and white, cowboys and Indians, like the ludicrous American cinema we sometimes saw in Lodz." How does Mia's more mature worldview better prepare her than Wolf for resistance outside the ghetto?
5. While staying in the nunnery, the abbess proves to Mia that "…there was still goodness in the world, still grace." Mia then wonders if she'll ever find such grace outside the nunnery's walls. Does she?
6. After a few months in America (and after meeting Vinnie), Mia regains a measure of humanity and happiness. What role does music play in this transformation?
7. Although she despises them with all of her being, Mia recognizes that even certain Nazis had the potential for goodness. At one point she thinks to herself "Surely in every group of people, there were the good and the bad." Why do you think the author gave Mia such a developed sense of moral ambiguity?
8. As far as we see, Mia never really has the chance to feel anything like joy or relief at the liberation of Paris. Is the defeat of the Nazis an entirely Pyrrhic victory for Mia? In other words, has she lost too much to ever feel a sense of triumph?
9. On a similar note, the Prologue describes Mia feeling unsure as to whether or not she can love again. Having finished the novel, do you think she has regained her capacity for love?
10. In the final chapter, we learn that Mia and Vinnie just barely missed each other in Paris. Had they actually crossed paths, do you think they would have lived "happily ever after" like the couples in more traditionally romantic novels? What are your feelings about the way the novel does end?
11. Throughout the novel Mia's experience of "family" is constantly evolving, first with her parents in Poland, then with Wolf and the resistance fighters, later on in Brooklyn with her Aunt and Uncle, and finally with the women of the brothel in Paris. How has her time as part of these "families" shaped Mia's ability to survive and to love?
12. Essentially, Mia's is a survivor's story. She has survived war, death, and lost love. From what source do you think Mia derives her strength? Are there any qualities in Mia which you admire or would like to emulate in your own life?
13. What does the title, The Memories We Keep, mean to you? To you does the title reflect a sense of hope or one of loss?
The Memories We Keep
Walter Zacharius
Discussion Questions
1. In Chapter 1, Mia describes giving up her beloved music practice. Is she just going through a normal adolescent "stage," or are there larger forces at work behind her renouncement?
2. On page 53, Mia describes herself walking "…stiffly out the door, down the stairs, and into the street, just as the golem do." Why does Mia compare herself to the golem—a symbolic "monster" from Jewish mythology?
3. Mr. Levy trades a cache of diamonds to a hospital administrator for what he hopes will be safe passage for the family. Instead, the Levys are forced on a train bound for a concentration camp. Why does the theme of betrayal rear its ugly head so often in the novel?
4. Though Wolf was once a heroic figure for her, Mia eventually realizes that "…for all his brains and courage, he lived in a little boy's world of black and white, cowboys and Indians, like the ludicrous American cinema we sometimes saw in Lodz." How does Mia's more mature worldview better prepare her than Wolf for resistance outside the ghetto?
5. While staying in the nunnery, the abbess proves to Mia that "…there was still goodness in the world, still grace." Mia then wonders if she'll ever find such grace outside the nunnery's walls. Does she?
6. After a few months in America (and after meeting Vinnie), Mia regains a measure of humanity and happiness. What role does music play in this transformation?
7. Although she despises them with all of her being, Mia recognizes that even certain Nazis had the potential for goodness. At one point she thinks to herself "Surely in every group of people, there were the good and the bad." Why do you think the author gave Mia such a developed sense of moral ambiguity?
8. As far as we see, Mia never really has the chance to feel anything like joy or relief at the liberation of Paris. Is the defeat of the Nazis an entirely Pyrrhic victory for Mia? In other words, has she lost too much to ever feel a sense of triumph?
9. On a similar note, the Prologue describes Mia feeling unsure as to whether or not she can love again. Having finished the novel, do you think she has regained her capacity for love?
10. In the final chapter, we learn that Mia and Vinnie just barely missed each other in Paris. Had they actually crossed paths, do you think they would have lived "happily ever after" like the couples in more traditionally romantic novels? What are your feelings about the way the novel does end?
11. Throughout the novel Mia's experience of "family" is constantly evolving, first with her parents in Poland, then with Wolf and the resistance fighters, later on in Brooklyn with her Aunt and Uncle, and finally with the women of the brothel in Paris. How has her time as part of these "families" shaped Mia's ability to survive and to love?
12. Essentially, Mia's is a survivor's story. She has survived war, death, and lost love. From what source do you think Mia derives her strength? Are there any qualities in Mia which you admire or would like to emulate in your own life?
13. What does the title, The Memories We Keep, mean to you? To you does the title reflect a sense of hope or one of loss?
