I hope you enjoyed reading Book of a Thousand Days in January. It is one of my favorite Shannon Hale books. One suggestion I got last month when I asked for ways to improve the blog was to always have a list of questions to spark discussion as we did on Wives and Daughters. I agree that it's a great way to spark some thoughts and ideas about the writing, so here are some discussion questions for Book of a Thousand Days brought to you by LitLovers:
Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a conversation for this Book of a Thousand Days:
1. Describe the two young women in this story, Lady Saren and Dashti. In what ways are they different from one another? How does each cope with the deprivations of the tower? (Lest we judge...how would most of us fare locked away in a tower?) Why is it left to Dashti to communicate with the visitors who come to the tower?
2. Do you like the way in which this story is told: with Dashti narrating through her journal. How would you describe Dashti's voice—boastful...self-effacing...bright...depressive... uncertain...strong...thoughtful...? Does her voice change during the story?
3. How does Dashti's background prepare her to endure the isolation of the tower and the hardships of the Mongolian landscape? Talk about the ways in which Dashti's leadership and ingenuity save the two young women in their fight for survival.
4. Describe Dashti's conflict: her growing feelings for Kahn Tegus vs. her loyalty to Saren. How did you feel about the budding relationship between Dashti and Tegus?
5. How would you describe Dashti's healing songs—are they poetry, folk lore, magic? What is their purpose: why does Dashti use them, and why would Hale include them as part of the story?
6. Talk about the male characters: Lord Khasar and Khan Tegus? Are either fully-developed as human beings? Or are they one-dimensional, cartoonish characters?
7. Comment on this lovely passage: "Things worn closest to the skin, to the heart, carry the scent of a person, and of course, scent is the breath of the soul." What might Dashti mean by the last 5 words? Find and read other passages that you find lyrical or otherwise notable.
8. In what way does Saren change by the end of the book? Does she rise in stature in your estimation?
9. Hale based this book on a Brothers Grimm folk tale, "Maid Maleen," in which the imprisoned lady is the heroine, not her servant. Why might Shannon Hale have changed the heroine in her reworking of the original?
10. Does the book deliver in terms of engaging you all the way through? Are characters compelling, is the plot suspenseful, and are you satisfied with how the story ends?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
1. Describe the two young women in this story, Lady Saren and Dashti. In what ways are they different from one another? How does each cope with the deprivations of the tower? (Lest we judge...how would most of us fare locked away in a tower?) Why is it left to Dashti to communicate with the visitors who come to the tower?
2. Do you like the way in which this story is told: with Dashti narrating through her journal. How would you describe Dashti's voice—boastful...self-effacing...bright...depressive... uncertain...strong...thoughtful...? Does her voice change during the story?
3. How does Dashti's background prepare her to endure the isolation of the tower and the hardships of the Mongolian landscape? Talk about the ways in which Dashti's leadership and ingenuity save the two young women in their fight for survival.
4. Describe Dashti's conflict: her growing feelings for Kahn Tegus vs. her loyalty to Saren. How did you feel about the budding relationship between Dashti and Tegus?
5. How would you describe Dashti's healing songs—are they poetry, folk lore, magic? What is their purpose: why does Dashti use them, and why would Hale include them as part of the story?
6. Talk about the male characters: Lord Khasar and Khan Tegus? Are either fully-developed as human beings? Or are they one-dimensional, cartoonish characters?
7. Comment on this lovely passage: "Things worn closest to the skin, to the heart, carry the scent of a person, and of course, scent is the breath of the soul." What might Dashti mean by the last 5 words? Find and read other passages that you find lyrical or otherwise notable.
8. In what way does Saren change by the end of the book? Does she rise in stature in your estimation?
9. Hale based this book on a Brothers Grimm folk tale, "Maid Maleen," in which the imprisoned lady is the heroine, not her servant. Why might Shannon Hale have changed the heroine in her reworking of the original?
10. Does the book deliver in terms of engaging you all the way through? Are characters compelling, is the plot suspenseful, and are you satisfied with how the story ends?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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I LOVE this book! I even asked for it for Christmas. I absolutely love that it's narrated like a Diary. It makes me feel closer to Dashti and even all the other characters.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think i could have handled everything as well as Dashti. She gets locked up in a tower for somenody else's problems, falls in love while forced to pretend she's someone else and gets thrown in prison for doing so. All the while she never complains and never says anything really bad about Lady Saren and doesn't blame her for anything.
I think I may have become a little bitter after all that. But after reading Dashti's accounts, it makes me want to be a more positive person. I complain a lot about little things and reading stories like this (even though it's fiction) makes me realize that things could always be worse and looking positively on things makes them go smoother.
So much more I want to say about this book, but I won't bore you anymore. :) Thanks for making this book a part of the book club!
I agree... I want to be so much more like Dashti and just do what needs to be done and not worry about if something is fair or fun or what I really want to be doing. It reminds me of my grandparents... you just did what needed to be done and you didn't complain. I just was so attracted to her humility and submissiveness, although she obviously had enough substance in her character that she could have perfectly well felt otherwise. I didn't really read this book again, (I read it a long time ago, so I used the month to catch up on some others), but I just remembered the relationship between her and the Khan was so fulfilling, It was romantic, deep, tender, sweet, and was obvious that they were attracted to each others' character and personality immediately, almost like a meant-to-be kind of relationship.
ReplyDeleteI always love Shannon Hale's love stories. They are always so real, and I love that she doesn't have to make the substance of her writing questionable just to make a good love story. That is the mark of a truly great writer. No lights, smoke or mirrors, just good solid writing, and with such a distinct style. Now I must get ahold of Forest Born and River Secrets!
Hi girls, I hope you don't mind if I join up with the book club! I love this book too, I think it's my favorite Shannon Hale book so far. I love how her mother had taught her so much and so well that she rarely questioned how she should be acting in any given circumstance, and if she did question it she decided and moved on quickly. One of the things that struck me about the tower was the darkness, the fact that there where no window's. I just couldn't get over this I kept thinking in the beginning that I had read it wrong and that somewhere there had to be a window. I can't imagine living in darkness for so long.
ReplyDeleteI also loved her and Khan's relationship, he is so sweet to her and sticks by her side when she is caught.
Love it!!! Jamie(not Gabraylie)
Agreed... it's my fave Shannon Hale as well. What you were saying, Jamie, reminded me of The Help (I read it last month to get a jump start)... Minny's mom teaches her when she is little before she goes to work at a white woman's house all the rules, the first being, mind your own business. Do as you're told, and don't mess in their affairs, and Minny can't make herself not meddle when things aren't done as they should (which happened a lot in Mississippi at this time). I think I would probably be more like Minny, and less like Dashti. I don't think I am as humble as Dashti is, and that is something I'd like to work on, although I do admire Minny for standing up for what she thinks is right, even if she does go about it in the wrong way most of the time.
ReplyDelete