Discussion questions for The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

1. 1. Have you ever read a first person account (fictional or non-fiction) like Reiner/Josef/Franz’s?
   2. Why did Sage do what she did?
   3. Why is Leo’s job important?  Think about what he says on p. 449.
   4. There are a lot of stories behind the story. Which story would you be interested in reading (e.g. how Franz found Minka after the war)?
   5. One thing that is notable about Jodi Picoult’s writing is that she portrays both sides of some very volatile issues with compassion, and can make the reader feel sympathy for all of the characters.  What are the two sides in The Storyteller?  Does she portray each with her customary compassion?  Which characters did you feel sympathy for?  Why or why not?
   6. Picoult herself was raised in a Jewish home, but defines herself as agnostic.  Does knowing that change your perception of any part of the book?  How?  In an interview with the Jewish Book Council, Picoult says she “doesn’t feel it’s her respon­si­bil­i­ty to write about the Holo­caust; she thinks this book may have more impact com­ing from her as an out­sider, rather than from a more typ­i­cal Jew­ish writer.”
   7. Kirkus’s reviewer says: “Readers will see the final twist coming far in advance due to unwieldy plot contrivances which only serve to emphasize what they are intended to conceal.”  Did you?  At what point in the story?
   8. Publishers Weekly reviewer calls Minka’s part of the story “verbose” and “formulaic”.  The Irish Times’s reviewer thought they were “powerful”.  What did you think?
   9. What do you think Picoult wanted the reader to feel at the end of this book?
   10. Do you think that telling her story “killed” Minka?  Or released her?  Or was the timing of her death just a coincidence?
   11. Do you think Sage and Leo went on to live happily ever after?

For more questions, check out the publisher’s resources.

Want to share your own questions with us?