Persian Pickle Club (Dallas)

Discussion Questions
1. The Denver Post called this "A book about how times can never be so hard that they can't be eased when people come together." How do the gatherings of the Persian Pickle Club ease its member's troubles?

2. Queenie says, "It was marrying that made women appreciate other women." Grover is a nice man who listens to Queenie's fears and shares his own. What do women characters provide each other?

3. Does Rita think she is a good friend to Queenie? Is she aware of the trouble her insensitive questions cause?

4. Tom bends down and tests the dryness of the dirt, realizing that there's no way of growing crops in it, but then turns up the road, apparently happy. How is this ability to ignore disaster echoed elsewhere in the book?

5. Quilting is central to this story. How is Harveyville like a quilt? What are the patterns? What is the stitching that holds it together?

6. Tyrone, the Reverend, and his sister are the only characters in the book who loudly profess devotion to God, yet they are the most disliked members of the community How else does this book turn morality and religion on its head?

7. Rita is a different kind of woman from the other members of the club-she doesn't seem to want to empathize with anyone. Discuss how her goals and feelings differ from those of the members.

8. At the end, Rita sends a "Friendship Forever" quilt to Queenie and the club. What is Rita trying to tell the club?

9. Rita includes a card that says, "If you wonder who's responsible, I did it." Who really did do it? Does it
matter?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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