1. Did the experiences of Effie and her friends align with your assumptions about post–Civil War Reconstruction? If not, in what ways did they differ?
2. Effie spends much of the novel searching for her kin. Though she doesn’t find any blood relatives, do you think she’s found family in the end?
3. What is it that draws Effie to Samson? Have you ever fallen in love with someone without fully understanding why?
4. Do you think Effie and Adeline’s friendship blooms in spite of their differences or because of them? In what ways are they similar?
5. What did you think of the character of Samson? Is he a hero in the story or a villain? Did he ever really love either Effie or Adeline?
6. Effie is confident in her skill as an embalmer, Adeline in her beauty and charm. Were there areas of their lives they seemed more insecure? Did their confidences and insecurities change over the course of the novel?
7. Death in the nineteenth century was a more common and often more intimate occurrence than today. How do our modern customs affect the way we experience death and mourning?
8. Effie remarks that no matter what Mr. Whitmark does he’s “ever a traitor to one cause or another.” Do you agree? Did you feel pity for him in the end?
9. There are many incidences of betrayal in the novel. Which, if any, surprised you, and which felt the most egregious?
10. What did you think about the character of Jonesy? Are there people in your own life whose imprint far exceeds the time you spent with them?
11. What if the racial equality Samson and Effie fought for had endured beyond Reconstruction? How would today’s America be different?