Returns and Exchanges (Kruman) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. List some of the classical and modern euphemisms for European/"Western" civilization found in the book

2. What are some of Jacob Frenkel's motivations for writing a symphony?

3. What would one conclude about millenials from this book?

4. Is Conrad's experience in New York a wild success, a sell-out's dream, just plain fate, or all of the above?

5. What do we learn about the creative process from Jacob Frenkel's experience in writing a symphony?

6. How does a modern woman like Helen Silkin manage to navigate the multiple pressures of professional success, marriage, her parents' immigrant dreams, pressures on an only child, desire to see and experience the world, plus the weight of generations and her own idea of what success entails? Does she, indeed, manage?

7. What does it take for a famous man's son to step out from his shadow? Can he ever?

8. What are we to learn, if anything, about the ever-dying, beleaguered Western civilization from the events of Berlin in this book that New York fails to teach?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)

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