For Book Clubs

Dianne Romain would be delighted to visit book clubs in person or via Skype. 

Discussion Questions:

• With whom do you identify in this novel, and why? What character drives you crazy and why?
• Of the following factors, which do you think most affected the characters’ choices? Social attitudes about race, sex, and family; early childhood experiences; parenting styles; personality; family and friendship bonds. Explain. What would you add to the list? Explain.
• Do you find parallels between Callie’s situation and Armando’s? How would you describe those parallels?
• Pick a scene where you would have acted differently than a character did. What would you have done differently?
• Do you feel differently about yourself and others after reading the novel? Explain.
• What images did you have of Mexico and Mexicans before reading The Trumpet Lesson? Have any of your views changed?
• How would you describe the different types of families found in the novel? Do any of these families remind you of families in your own life?
• How might the stories of adoption in the novel change in a different time period or in a different culture?
• How do you feel about the use of French, Spanish, and “Midwestern talk” in the novel? How do you feel about the use of “flaco,” “gordo,” “moreno,” and “guëro” (“skinny,” “fat,” “dark,” and “light”) as nicknames?
• Does the title The Trumpet Lesson suit the novel? Explain.
• Do you believe that people learn life lessons from music lessons? Explain. Would you propose a different title for the novel?
• What was your emotional experience of reading the novel? How did you feel when you finished the novel?
• Some questions are left unanswered in the novel. How would you answer them?

See the schedule for launch events>>