Grammarians (Schine) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for THE GRAMMARIANS … then take off on your own:

1. At the heart of this novel is the question of the self —how does each twin determine where her sister's identity ends and her own begins? Are they their own person or merely part of the other? What are their parents thoughts? What do you think: how would you answer those questions if the twins were to ask you?

2. Consider that the girls' names come from an anciet Greek myth in which Daphne, chased by Apollo, is transformed into the laurel tree. What is the symbolic significance that Cathleen Schine seems to be playing with by giving the twins those names?

3. Talk about the twins' earlier years, as youngsters: in what ways are they are alike, and in what ways are they different? When do their differences begin to appear?

4. The word twin is a Janus word, a single word that has opposite meanings. What are those meanings and how do those opposing definitions of "twin" apply to Daphne and Laurel?

5. The two are word lovers, but as adults they find themselves on opposing sides language. Talk about how each sees the use, rules, and boundaries of language. Is one approach more legitimate than the other? Whose side do you take in this argument?

6. Aside from language, describe the divisiveness between the two sisters as adults. Talk about the different paths their lives has taken. Do you admire one, or relate to one, more than the other?

7. (Follow-up to Question 5) Talk about your own relationship to language--how you use it and your appreciation of it. Do you treasure words in general...or particular words specifically? Think about the ways language can both unite us and separate us.

8. The present time of the novel takes place during the 1980s. If you lived through that era, does it feel familiar? Does Schine portray the time as you remember it? Why might the author have chosen the '80s as her setting?

9. Schine is clearly having her own fun with language. She heads each chapter with an unusual, even obsolete, word. In what way so the words relate to their chapters?

10. Do you know any identical twins or paternal twins who look nearly identical? If so, have they shared stories with you of what it's like to be a twin? Or, perhaps, you are a twin. Are you willing to share your experiences with your discussion group?

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

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