1) Do you like to read books that alternate stories between chapters? Do you usually find yourself liking one story better than the other?
2) Is Sophie a likable character? Did you understand her frustration? Were her expectations realistic?
3) Have you ever been trapped in a boring job? Have you ever worked in a cubicle? If so, what did you do to change your circumstances?
4) Do you think a lot of marriages get stale over the years? How did Sophie and Ray’s relationship change throughout the novel? Do you think they have a chance at happily ever after?
5) Did it bother you that the Best Boy and his girlfriend didn’t have names?
6) When, if ever, did you begin to pick up on the similarities in the two stories? What were the subtle connections between Sophie and the young girl? When did you notice them?
7) Sophie wonders if there is a word for how world events affect your personal life. She asks zeitgeist? The spirit of the times. Did the recent recession touch you and your family’s life? Have you made career choices that weren’t right for you just to keep food on the table, pay your bills, and provide health insurance for your family? Politics have real life consequences. Can you think of any ways in which politics have affected your life?
8) Some readers mention they didn’t like the politics. Do you think the politics were important to the story? Do you think they were even a big part of the story? Other readers saw it as a love story. Do you read many stories about people with different viewpoints from your own?
9) How did Sophie’s dreams play into the story line? When did you realize something was going on with the dreams?
10) Was there a fairy tale aspect to the young girl’s story? What aspects of a fairy tale did you recognize? Evil stepsisters, Prince Charming, magical animals?
11) Are you okay with ambiguous endings or do you like your books to end neat and tidy with all the loose strings tied up?
12) Have you ever witnessed a tragic accident that changed your outlook on life? Or the loss of a close friend? Do you think events like this had an effect on Sophie and the way she spent her days? Or did Sophie expect too much out of life? Is Sophie an optimistic person or a hopeless dreamer?
13) Do you know who The Actor in Sophie’s dreams is?
Sheila Blanchette 