To the Bright Edge of the World (Ivey)

Discussion Questions
We'll add the publisher's questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for To the Bright Edge of the World...then take off on your own:

1. Talk about the novel's two primary characters: Col. Allen Forrester and Sophie Forrester. What do you think of them? What kind of leader is Forrester? And Sophie? In what ways does she not conform to the era's expectations for women?

2. How do the letters Allen sends to Sophie differ from his journal entries?

3. Talk about the dangers and hardships Allen and his men face during their journey. As they move deeper into the Alaskan wilderness, how do the men begin to revert to their more primal natures?

4. What role does the raven play in this story? Does it represent evil...or helpfulness...or what?

5. Sophie develops a passion for the burgeoning art of photography. How does photography open up her own journey of self-discovery?

6. Ivey has structured her novel as a story framed at both ends with another story, this one contemporary with our own time, in which Allen's great-nephew wishes to gift the letters and diaries to the Alpine Historical Museum. Why might Ivey used this framing device? What perspective does it lend to Allen and Sophie's story?

7. Discuss the spiritual, and shamanistic practices of the Native Americans who inhabit this land. How does Ivey weave those beliefs into her story? What kind of atmosphere does she create?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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