POB ~ discussion questions 31-37

A White Hair ~ Seville, 1480 ~ (pp. 273-316)

31. Where did the white hair come from (pp. 285-286)? And how were cat hairs used in the book?

32. An iconoclast is a person who destroys a culture's religious symbols. What had the iconoclasts done in this section of the book (p. 287)?

33. "Too finely dressed to be a servant, and fully participating in the Jewish rite, the identity of that African woman in saffron has perplexed the book's scholars for a century" (p. 20) ... when I read that, I made a note: "Okay, I'm hooked; I want to know who this woman is." Now we know (p. 315). Who is she, and why is she in the picture?

Hanna ~ Sarajevo, Spring 1996 ~ (pp. 317-326)

34. When Hanna returns to Sarajevo for the grand opening of the exhibit of the Hagaddah, she immediately thinks something's wrong with the book in the display (p. 321). How could she make such a major mistake, as her teacher and Ozren both try to tell her?

Lola ~ Jerusalem, 2002 ~ pp. 327-336)

35. What a way to reconnect with Lola, having her discover something hidden in the museum in Israel. Was this discovery a miracle? Or was it beyond believable to you?

Hanna ~ Arnhem Land, Gunumeleng, 2002 ~ (pp. 337-368)

36. "What skills could you possibly have, darling?" (pp. 343). Could you imagine Hanna's mother saying such a thing, even though she's trying to keep Hanna off the board of the Sharansky Foundation? Hanna responded in exasperation, "How is it ... that a man like Aaron Sharansky could have loved someone like you?" (p. 344). Is their mother-daughter relationship believable? What did you think about Hanna's decision to "change my name to Sharansky" (p. 345). Do you think they can ever heal the rift?

37. How would you feel if you'd changed your whole professional life six years ago, and now discovered you had been right all along?