|
- Throughout Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik seems to be writing
about small things—Christmas lights, fax machines, children’s
stories—but he tries to find in them larger truths about French and
American life. Can the shape of big things be found by studying
small ones? Is it really possible to "see the world in a grain of
sand"? What overlooked small things in our American life seem to
resonate with larger meanings?
- Although composed of separate essays, the book follows a thread
toward a larger meaning: that the "commonplace civilization" of
Paris is beautiful but its official culture is often oppressive.
What kinds of evidence, small and large, does Gopnik collect to
illustrate this idea? In "Papon’s Paper Trail," how does this
lighthearted observation turn serious? In the chapters about the
Balzar wars, how are the author’s feelings finally resolved?
- Can we find a similar distinction between "civilization" and
"official culture" in America? Do you agree with the notion Gopnik
alludes to in "Barney in Paris" that media culture is our official
culture? Do you think his urge to "protect" his child from the
"weather on CNN" in favor of the "civilization of the carousel" is
admirable or foolish?
- Although Paris to the Moon is not a novel, it has a novelistic
shape, with characters we come to know. Are there "secret stories"
in the book? Does Gopnik want us to sense something about the
development of his feelings about his child? About his wife? Has the
narrator changed or matured by the end? In what way are "all chords
sounded" by the birth of a new child?
- "The Rookie" is one of the most popular stories in the book. Why
do you think this is so? The author seems to be saying that American
life gives the "gift of loneliness"; do you agree? If you were away
from home for a long time, what elements of American culture do you
think you would miss?
- Throughout the book, Gopnik compares France and America. What
are the most frequent points of comparison? Where do you think he
favors America, and where France? Which do you favor?
- At the end of Paris to the Moon, when the family decides to
return to America, Martha says, "In Paris we have a beautiful
existence but not a full life, and in New York we have a full life
but an unbeautiful existence." The author has said that this
distinction is central to his experience of being an expatriate. Do
you think it’s a valid distinction? Given the choice, which would
you prefer?
* Some questions from BookBrowse.com
|
|
