Check out our Most Anticipated Books for 2025

Book Club Discussion Questions for Spider Love Song and Other Stories by Nancy Au

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

Spider Love Song and Other Stories by Nancy Au

Spider Love Song and Other Stories

by Nancy Au
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • Paperback:
  • Oct 2019, 184 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About this Book

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. Many of the stories in the collection explore the theme of family. In "The Richmond," for example, the daughter must contend with violence that she does not yet understand, with forced flight from one's home country, with stories told by her parents about historical events that are complex and unfathomable to the eleven-year-old. How are the characters impacted by immigration, or language, or questions of identity? What patterns emerge in these intergenerational relationships?
  2. Damselflies, dragons, slugs, beetles, dogs, turtles, and more. There are many animals and insects that inhabit the pages of this collection. How are nonhuman creatures used in the stories? What do they add to the narratives?
  3. Explore May's relationship with Lai in "Louise." Or, explore Lai's relationship with the duck. What future do you see for the couple? Why does Lai want to adopt Louise? Why doesn't May?
  4. Imaginations are used in many of the stories, as a form of strength, comfort, solace for the characters. How does Sophie use her imagination in the title story, "Spider Love Song," to cope with the disappearance of her parents? What would happen if she did not have her imagination to turn to?
  5. What do you think happened to Sophie's parents in "Spider Love Song"? What clues did you find woven into the story?
  6. In "Little Harlot," the protagonist and her older cousin, Lin, search through the belongings of their relatives during the grandmother's memorial reception dinner. What is Lin searching for? Why does the protagonist join her?
  7. "This Is Me" explores the mind and imagination and memories of an elderly woman named Mrs. Lee. What happened to her husband? Where does she really want to live—with her husband in their current home, or with her daughter, or in the elder-care facility? Whom does she trust?
  8. In "How to Become Your Own Odyssey, or The Land of Indigestion," Edmund's father sleepwalks and sleep-eats. What is he telling Edmund with his dreams? What do you imagine Edmund will find when he returns to the darkened house without his light?
  9. In the final story of the collection, the protagonist helps Bell to "seizure" after Bell's grandmother passes away. What do you think Bell saw in her seizure dream? Why was she smiling?


Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Acre Books. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: The Sequel
    The Sequel
    by Jean Hanff Korelitz
    In Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Sequel, Anna Williams-Bonner, the wife of recently deceased author ...
  • Book Jacket: My Good Bright Wolf
    My Good Bright Wolf
    by Sarah Moss
    Sarah Moss has been afflicted with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa since her pre-teen years but...
  • Book Jacket
    Canoes
    by Maylis De Kerangal
    The short stories in Maylis de Kerangal's new collection, Canoes, translated from the French by ...
  • Book Jacket: Absolution
    Absolution
    by Jeff VanderMeer
    Ten years ago, the literary landscape was changed forever when Jeff VanderMeer became the "King of ...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

At times, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by a spark from another person.

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

X M T S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.