Pick and choose the discussion questions that will be most fruitful for your book club or discussion group.
Please reach the author at mariannerutter@yahoo.com if you have feedback on these questions or would like to suggest others.
Did you know that there were Italian POWs imprisoned in the United States during World War II? After reading Home Elsewhere, what is your impression of the camps and treatment of the POWs?
What do we learn about Giampaolo from his experience as a soldier in North Africa? Do you relate to him?
What do we learn about Eleanor when we first meet her in the book? Do you identify with her? What can we discern about her values and what’s important to her?
The young Eleanor is introduced through a flashback to her childhood. How and when did you see the little girl Eleanor begin to change into her older self? Why do you think Eleanor goes on the expedition to the church in New Jersey with her cousins and friends?
The Italian immigrant experience in the United States is an underlying theme of the book. Did anyone in your reading group grow up in similar circumstances? How did this novel expand your understanding of the struggles and triumphs of Italian-Americans before and during the War? How did Eleanor’s and Giampaolo’s shared Sicilian heritage influence their budding relationship?
Seeing the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor seems to be a seminal moment when these characters first arrive in the U.S. How are the experiences of Eleanor and Giampaolo illustrative of the American dream?
How she dresses seems very important to Eleanor right from when we first meet her in the book. What do you make of this? What do her impressions about clothing and the role it plays in her life tell you about her?
Mothers and maternal figures appear in this book in juxtaposition to the protagonists. How do they move the plot forward or stymie the action of the characters?
The role of food is central in the lives of these characters. Does this reinforce or change your mind about stereotypes you have of life in Italian families, and Italian-American values in general?
The romance between Giampaolo and Eleanor evolves sometimes through the characters’ interaction with each other and sometimes through letters they write to each other. What do you learn about them in these ways?
There are a number of minor characters in this book. Which ones do you remember best? What role does the extended family play in the lives of Giampaolo and Eleanor?
Aspects of two Sicilian weddings are portrayed in the book: Giampaolo’s and Eleanor’s, but also Ceccina’s and Peppino’s. How different or similar are they to wedding traditions with which you are familiar?
What do you think the future holds for the characters in this book after the story ends? How do you imagine their lives continuing in the years after Giampaolo returns?