Reparations (Sidransky) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. The POV in Reparations is quite different from many holocaust books. This centers around two young American Jews and their attempts to help their people as they emerged from the sewers and forests around Vienna. How are the ways Molly and Jacob helped their new friends in Europe?

2.  The title of the book is "reparations" and in this case, refers to children. Why were child the reparations the Jewish people sought after WWII?

3. In the love story between Molly and Jacob, one is destroyed by ambition even in the midst of such hubris and destruction. Can you discuss?

4. What does it mean in today's world to remember the holocaust? Is it more important now than ever? Is there anything in the telling of this highly personal story that you can still see at work in the world today?

5. How is the character of Molly a modern woman?

6. The rape by the German soldiers is a turning point in the book. Discuss the meaning of Molly's choice to have the baby and raise it as a Jew.

7. What does the loss of Jacob mean?

8. In what ways does the author create the difficult living conditions in post-war Europe. How does she characterize the people?

9. This book was written in 1950 and put away in a box for many years. Does the book feel more immediate or dated because of when it was written?

10. This book covers one of the most heartbreaking elements of war: How families and lovers find each other when the world has been destroyed. Discuss how Jews remade their family after near annihilation.
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

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