Questions to think about while reading Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

• In what ways to the characters deal with abandonment and loss.  What other themes do the stories have in common?

• How does “The Edge of the World” set the tone for Blackbird House? How would you characterize the house—is it frightening, soothing, mysterious? Did your feelings about the house change as the book unfolded? If so,how?

• In the fist story, what signs of impending doom does Coral see? How does the return of the blackbird confirm her worst fears? What does the white bird symbolize in the other stories?

• Nature plays an important role in Blackbird House. What images of nature are most prevelant and what do they represent?

•  In Lionheart” Violet West asks her husband f se thinks she has made a mistake by pushing Lion to go to Harvard. Did she make a mistake? What could have happened if Lion stayed at Blackbird House?

• In "India," Maya and Kalkin Cooper feel emotionally abandoned by their parents. What contributes to the deep misunderstanding between them? Why does it take the deaths of her father and brother for Maya to be able to see the situation more clearly?

• The image of drowning courses throughout the book, from the literal loss of life of John and Isaac (in “The Edge of the World”) to Lysander’s accident (“The Witch of Truro”), to the characterization of Emma’s parents as “two drowning people” in “The Summer Kitchen.” What about the act of drowning is so potent in describing loss, either of life or of love? In which other ways does the power of nature play a role in the book?

• Loneliness can become nasty and hopeless,” Hoffman writes. Which characters allow loneliness to fill them with bitterness? In contrast, who enjoys time alone and grows as a result of it?

• What historic events tie the stories together? What role does war play in the lives of the residents of Blackbird House?