Story Sisters (Hoffman)

Discussion Questions
1. When Elv and Claire set out to rescue the horse at the beginning of the novel, what do you learn about the family dynamics and the personalities of the three sisters? How do they relate to one another and to their mother, Annie? Which sister is most like Annie? What does Annie mean when she says,“People who said daughters were easy had never had girls of their own” [p. 4]?

2. The importance of storytelling is a central theme of this novel. What purpose do stories serve—for the individual and for society? Do you see any parallels between the Story sisters and other literary sisters, such as the Brontë sisters or the March sisters in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women? Can imagined worlds be both positive and destructive? What is the thin line between storytelling and deception/ denial, and how does it come into play in the novel?

3. After her abduction, Elv begins to invent the world of Arnelle. It’s a way for her to escape reality, but her fairy-tale world becomes a trap of its own. Discuss the otherworld that Elv creates and how it functions. What are the rules of Arnelle and how do they relate to Elv’s abduction? Why does Elv later decide to change the story by “going over to the other side” [p. 69] and joining with the “demon world”? Can you understand and have compassion for her when she turns her back on the “human world”?

4. Fairy tales typically include common mythic elements, including the battle between good and evil, the idea of “the quest,” and the notion that sacrifices must be made in order for an individual to earn wisdom and faith. How are the qualities of fairy tales incorporated into the novel?

5. Each chapter begins with a “fairy tale” from Elv’s Black Book of Fairy Tales, the stories she tells to her sisters. If you read them in order, what do they tell you about Elv’s inner life? Are fairy tales often a psychological map, a way to get to truth via mythic and symbolic references? If so, how?

6. On the day of Elv’s abduction Meg is reading the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations. Why is this significant? Meg also reads Oliver Twist and Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. Why might these novels appeal to her? Which author does Claire read in Paris, and why do you think this novelist would appeal to her considering her unique vision of the world? Are there novels that you feel affected you greatly at certain points in your life? If so, which ones and why?

7. Why does Elv keep her abduction a secret? Whom is she trying to protect? Why does Claire go along with her decision? Is keeping another person’s secret a sign of loyalty or does it—as Meg asserts—make you an accomplice? How did your vision of Elv change as you learned more details about her abduction?

8. When Elv’s family brings her to Westfield, she feels betrayed. Why does Elv place such a high premium on loyalty, and how do you think she defines it? How does each family member react to the intervention? Are there situations where it’s necessary to deceive loved ones in order to save them? Have you ever faced such a situation with a loved one?

9. First at the Westfield School and later in prison, Elv strongly identifies with Hester Prynne in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. What parallels do you see between Elv and Hester? In what ways does Elv imagine herself to be “marked” and set apart from others? Have you known people who have made a youthful mistake that has haunted them?

10. What stories does Lorry tell Elv about his past, and how do they mirror her own tales of Arnelle? Why doesn’t she feel betrayed when she learns that Lorry’s “true-life” stories about living below Penn Station with the mole people are in fact fiction? What is the distinction between a story and a lie? Do you think Lorry gave Elv what she wanted or needed? How do you view the love they had for each other?

11. When Annie hires Pete to track down Elv, the two strike up a friendship that leads to romance. What do you make of Pete’s decision to stay with Annie and pursue a relationship with her even though he knows he doesn’t have much time left with her? What does that decision say about his character?

12. After Meg dies, her sisters are emotionally lost, shattered by the tragic circumstance of her death. Elv disappears and Claire withdraws deep inside herself, refusing to speak or relate to others. Why does Elv run away from the scene of the accident? Does she want to be found? Who does Claire blame for Meg’s death and why? Why does it take an outsider such as Pete to understand and try to assuage the sisters’ guilt?

13. While in prison, Elv works with abused and abandoned dogs and later takes a job with an animal shelter. After Meg dies, Claire’s constant companion is her dog, Shiloh. Lorry’s stories revolve around a heroic dog as well. How does the relationship between human and dog relate to the theme of loyalty? What impact do the dogs have on the sisters and why?

14. As a detective, Pete is in the business of uncovering secrets. But he is also a keeper of secrets when he feels it’s necessary to protect those he loves. Why does he pose as an author when he visits the man who abused Elv? Is this man correct when he says people are unknowable and that “everyone has their secrets” [p. 286)? Do you feel Pete has made a moral decision when he frames the man who is responsible for so much of the damage in the Story sisters’ lives?

15. In Paris, Claire leads a solitary life and speaks only when necessary. She avoids love and relationships and suffers from intense guilt. What does Claire mean when she says that “she and Elv were two of a kind” [p. 227]? Do you see the similarities between the sisters, even though their lives take such different arcs? What role does art play in reconnecting Claire to the world?

16. How does motherhood change Elv, and what does she discover about the nature of maternal love? Do you think we often understand our parents best only after we ourselves become parents? What stories does Elv pass down to Mimi? How does the telling of family stories help Elv and connect her to the past? What role does Mimi play in bringing Elv and Claire together again? Do you see a future for the Story sisters? If you were to write the next five years in the sisters’ lives, how do you imagine Claire and Elv’s relationship will progress? Would you agree that the major theme of The Story Sisters is the possibility of redemption and forgiveness? (Questions from the author's website.)

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