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- At the beginning of the book, Beryl
reflects that her father’s farm in Njoro was "the one place in the
world I’d been made for." Do you feel this is a fitting way to
describe Beryl’s relationship with Kenya, too? Did she seem more
suited–more made for–life there than the others in her circle? Is
there a place in your life that you would describe the same way?
- While it is clear he loved his daughter, do you feel Beryl’s
father was a good parent? Do you think Beryl would have said he was?
Did you sympathize with him at any point?
- Beryl is forced to be independent from a very young age. How do
you think this shaped her personality (for better or for worse)?
- After Jock’s drunken attack, D fires Beryl and sends her away.
Do you understand his decision? Despite all the philandering and
indulgent behaviors of the community, do you feel it’s fair that
Beryl was being judged so harshly for the incident?
- How would you describe Beryl and Denys’s relationship? In what
ways are they similar souls? How does their first encounter–outside,
under the stars at her coming out party–encapsulate the nature of
their connection?
- Karen and Beryl are two strong, iconoclastic women drawn to the
same unobtainable man. Do you understand how Beryl could pursue
Denys even though he was involved with Karen? Did you view the
friendship between the women as a true one, despite its
complications?
- Why do you believe the author chose the title Circling the Sun?
Does it bring to mind a particular moment from the novel or an
aspect of Beryl’s character?
- When Beryl is quite young, she reflects that "softness and
helplessness got you nothing in this place." Do you agree with her?
Or do you think Beryl placed too much value on strength and
independence?
- When Beryl becomes a mother herself, she is determined not to
act as her own mother did. Do you feel she succeeds? How does
motherhood spur her decision to exchange horse training for flying?
Could you identify with this choice?
- After Paddy the lion attacks Beryl, Bishon Singh says, "Perhaps
you were never meant for him." Do you think that Beryl truly
discovered what she was meant for by the end of the novel?
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