Winter Boy (Grotta) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. If you were to create a culture or society from scratch, with the hope of it being one of peace, how would you have gone about doing it?

2.  What fatal flaws did the Alleshine world have? Or are the flaws within human beings?

3. How many names have you had in your lifetime? How did they represent different relationships or different aspects of you and your life at the time?

4. What do you think of Kiv? What do you think of she did what she did? Was it entirely out of love for the Peace, or other more personal reasons - or both? What would you have done, if you felt the way she did?

5. What do you think of the idea of using sexuality and intimacy to teach young men how to be leaders? How have the deep bonds you have shared with special people in your life changed you? What did you learn from them? Was the depth of your learning and alteration related to the depth of the relationship?

6. If you were an Allesha or Alleman, what would you do to save the Peace?

7. What do you think of the Guardian Alleshi? Are they necessary? Or do they subvert the essence of the Alleshine Peace?

8. Can you save lives by taking lives? Does preparing for war assure that there will be a war? Or does the nature of humanity require always being ready to protect yourself and your loved ones?

9. What do you think would have happened to Jinet if she hadn't become an Allesha?

10. What makes her the right fit for Ryl? Would Ryl have become an Alleman with some other Allesha? Was there anything unique about their pairing, or was it the system of training that gave him what he needed to mature?

11.  How would you define Ryl/Dov's love for Tayar? What are the differences and similarities to his love for Lilla? Can one man love two women? Can a boy be in love with a woman older than his mother?

12. Do you blame Mistral for starting a war? What would you have done in a similar situation?

13. Was Caith wise or foolish to confront Kiv about her plans? Why? If you were Caith, would you have released the guns?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)