Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
- The life and legacy of W.E.B Du Bois plays
a central role in this novel, from the title, to the
quotations at the start of each section, to the many
conversations Uncle Root, Ailey, and others
have about the great scholar. What was Uncle
Root trying to teach Ailey through his many
musings on Du Bois? What is the author trying to
communicate to readers through the inclusion of
Du Bois's words and history in the novel?
- What role does colorism play in the book, both
for Ailey and for the members of her family across
generations? How does Ailey experience colorism
in her family, in her personal and romantic setting,
throughout her academic career?
- Chicasetta, Georgia is a key location in Ailey's
present-day story and in the "sorrow songs" of
her maternal ancestors, who were once enslaved
on the land their descendants now inhabit. What
do you make of Chicasetta and the hallowed
landmarks there: the Mound and Red Mound
Church, Uncle Root's pecan tree, and the former
Pinchard planation? What role do these places
play in Ailey's understanding of her family's
history and of her own place in the world?
- Discuss the role education plays in the novel,
particularly for Uncle Root and Ailey. How does
Ailey's family history of education affect her own
educational direction? How does her relationship
to education inform her relationships with her
family and her peers?
- How do Ailey's experiences differ as she
moves between predominantly white institutions
like Braithwaite and North Carolina Regents
University and Historically Black Colleges and
Universities like Routledge? How does she feel
she is perceived in these different institutions?
How does she view herself with regard to these
institutions and how do those perceptions change
over the course of the novel?
- As we follow Ailey's story, we also learn the
stories of her Black and Indigenous ancestors in
what would become Chicasetta. How do these
ancestral experiences of oppression and resistance,
bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience
come to bear on Ailey's life? How do they inform
the lives of the older generations in Ailey's family
like Uncle Root, Dear Pearl, and Belle?
- When Ailey and Dr. Oludara visit Moss Road
Plantation, the caretaker glosses over the brutal
history of the place and focuses instead on its
architectural history. Throughout the novel, Ailey
encounters many historical and family truths that
are misrepresented or rewritten entirely. Recall
some of these instances. What was the purpose of
the lie? Who did it benefit? Who did it hurt?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Harper Perennial.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
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