Sookie struggles to assert herself in her relationship with Lenore, and in her life more generally. How does the novel examine the nature and experience of low self-esteem? How do these factors shape Sookie’s character arc?

Analyze Flagg’s decision to use multiple timelines in the novel. How do the past and present timelines inform one another in the narrative? In what ways does the past continue to influence the present in the lives of the characters?

Much of the novel centers upon Fritzi and her sisters’ experiences during World War II. How does the novel’s treatment of women during the war conform to, or diverge from, some of the common tropes of women’s historical fiction about WWII?