Tomorrow, Thursday, March 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM is the next meeting of the All Good Books club. We’ll discuss “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrick Backman.

The group meets at the Community of Christ Mission Road Congregation in the Church Library (7842 Mission Road, Prairie Village, KS). Everyone is welcome!

Here are some suggested discussion questions:

  1. How would you describe Elsa?
  2. How would you describe Elsa’s grandmother, Granny?
  3. Who is Britt-Marie and Kent and what relationship are they to Alf? Who is Lennart and Maud and how are they related to the other tenants? Who is the boy with the syndrome and his Mum? Who is the Monster (Wolfheart)? Who is Sam and is there a relationship between Sam and any of the other residents? Who is the woman in the black skirt? Who is Halfie? Who is wurse, Audi and Renault? What’s the relationship between Mum, Dad, George and Lisette?
  4. What do you remember about the Land-of-Almost-Awake? How do you travel to the land?
  5. What is the word jar? Who uses it and why?
  6. Is there a character that you personally identified with or who reminded you of someone you know? Tell us why.
  7. Is Elsa a believable almost 8-year old? Explain.
  8. What happened on the day Elsa was born? What philosophical question does her birth and the corresponding event raise?
  9. Who are in the photos on Granny’s ceiling?
  10. Is there a scene in the novel that had an emotional impact for you? Describe and explain why.
  11. Do you agree that the novel is part fairy tale and part adult story? Would you give it to a pre-teen to read? Why or why not?
  12. What do you view as the important themes of the novel?
  13. In a conversation on the phone, Elsa hears Granny say, ““I don’t want Elsa to know that I am going to die because all seven-year-olds deserve superheroes, Marcel. And one of their superpowers ought to be that they can’t get cancer.” Why are superpowers referenced and emphasized throughout the novel? Who has which superpowers?
  14. Granny says, ““It’s a grandmother’s prerogative never to have to show her worst sides to her grandchild, Elsa. Never to have to talk about what she was like before she became a grandmother.” Why does Granny say this and do you agree?
  15. Have you ever wanted to ask someone, like a parent or relative, a question and never got around to it until it was too late? How is that question related to the novel?
  16. What does the following quote mean? “Because not all monsters look like monsters. There are some that carry their monstrosity inside.”
  17. Would you like a grandmother like Granny? Why or why not?
  18. What is Granny sorry about?
  19. Do you have a favorite quote from the book?
  20. Would you recommend this book to someone else to read? Why or why not?
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