Ultimately, Iris’s vision of her life involves higher education and an impressive career-a vision of affluence-and she leaves Aubrey out of that vision simply because they come from different backgrounds. This is not about Iris’s dislike of margarine itself, but an admission that the food people have access to conveys their economic status. Iris’s propensity for judgmental elitism appears when she can’t believe Aubrey, as a teen, only ever had margarine, and how she “couldn’t see a future with someone who only knew margarine” (41). This difference is also highlighted by their relationship to food. When Iris asks him to dance, he joke about how she is following a rulebook, and her subsequent annoyed reaction communicates years of microaggressions about their class difference being shared between them. The affair screams elegance and wealth, but it also highlights how out of place Aubrey feels in this world. In hosting it, her family reasserts her class status, further marked by the abundance of luxurious food and the hired orchestra. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks she experienced due to this.įeel free to use my questions and pass them on.As the novel opens, the importance of class to the central characters is marked by Melody’s ceremony. RED AT THE BONE begins in 2001, with 16-year-old Melody descending a staircase in her grandparents' Brooklyn brownstone, making her debut in the dress her mother never got to wear for her own 16th celebration. Melody is raised in a “non-traditional” family. From the great Jacqueline Woodson comes a new novel that is sparse and searing, poignant and incisive, lush, lyrical and bright as a knife.
What do you think of Iris’ decision to leave her family? Can you empathize with her?Ĩ.
How does the author use actual historical events to structure the story? How do those events impact the characters?ħ. How do Aubrey and Iris’ class differences show up in their relationship?Ħ. How would you describe Iris and Melody’s relationship? How did it change over time?ĥ. How does the book explore the idea of inherited family trauma? How does it look at the passing down of history in terms of loss and regret, and also love and guidance?Ĥ.
Which character did you relate to most and why?ģ. What do you think “red at the bone” means? How does that apply to the story?Ģ.
I created my own and edited them after out discussion to reflect what came up most for us.īook Club Discussion Questions: Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson I only found one set of questions online and they were a bit wordy for my liking. My book club met at the end of November to discuss Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson. Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson talked about her new novel, Red at the Bone, in conversation with her long-time friend Tayari Jones as part of Woodson’s book tour for her most recent New.
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