61 pages • 2 hours read
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of racism, ableism, child sexual abuse, and physical abuse.
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. This novel was released in the same year as Jojo Moyes’s The Giver of Stars. Upon Moyes’s publication, Richardson advanced allegations of plagiarism against Moyes. Richardson noted similarities in theme, setting, and plot, as both novels discuss the WPA Pack Horse Librarians in the Kentucky hills in the 1930s. Ultimately, these allegations were not pursued. If you’ve read both books, what similarities and differences in theme, character, and plot do you notice?
2. This novel is followed by a sequel, The Book Woman’s Daughter. Do you feel engaged and interested enough to read the sequel, and if so, what about this novel stoked your interest?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. Considering the novel’s topics of prejudice and abuse, did any parts of the novel evoke a particularly strong emotional response in you? Did you find value in that response? Why or why not?
2. Cussy Mary eventually bonds with Jackson over their love of books. Consider the special people in your life: Was there something in particular you bonded over? Alternatively, what books have facilitated meaningful interactions or relationships with those around you?
3. At one point, Cussy Mary takes medicine to make her skin white even though the medicine makes her sick. Could you relate to this pressure to assimilate? If you’re comfortable doing so, consider discussing your own experiences with assimilation.
4. One of the redeeming factors in Cussy Mary’s difficult life is the help of the supportive community around her. What role does community support play in your own life and in getting you through your struggles?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. This novel incorporates the condition methemoglobinemia, which can result in blue skin. The hereditary form of this condition is present in the real-life family of the “Blue Fugates,” colloquially known as the “Blue People of Kentucky.” In the novel, Cussy Mary has methemoglobinemia. What are the ethical implications of depicting a fictional version of this real condition? Do you believe the novel did this responsibly and accurately?
2. Because of Cussy Mary’s methemoglobinemia, she experiences prejudice on the part of the town’s white residents and bonds with another marginalized person, a Black woman named Queenie. How does (or doesn’t) the novel use intersectionality to depict the differences between these women’s experiences?
3. As a child in the 60s and 70s, Richardson lived in a rural Kentucky orphanage called St. Thomas / St. Vincent Orphan Asylum. In 2004, Richardson and dozens of other plaintiffs who lived there sued the orphanage, a late priest who worked there, and several nuns for physical and sexual abuse. How might Richardson’s history as an orphan in rural Kentucky and a survivor of childhood abuse have influenced her depiction of these topics in the novel? How does the novel engage in a broader discourse surrounding these issues?
4. Consider the novel’s depiction of prejudice in Great Depression-era Kentucky. Can you identify any similarities to how prejudice works in your society today?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. How does Cussy Mary’s geographical mobility, provided by her role in the WPA Packhorse Librarians, affect her characterization and the novel’s plot?
2. Cussy Mary is marginalized and disempowered by prejudiced townsfolk, yet her WPA Packhorse Librarian position also gives her an amount of authority and respect among the people she helps. How do these two opposing positions of social power inform and develop Cussy Mary’s character?
3. Do you find the novel’s supporting characters, like Pa and Jackson Lovett, to be flat or round? What makes them this way?
4. What is the purpose of having multiple antagonists in this novel? How does this enhance the novel’s plot, themes, and character development?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. Historical fiction and nonfiction is often adapted into films or miniseries with all-star casts. For instance, Martin Scorcese’s 2023 adaptation of David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and more, as well as Shawn Levy’s 2023 adaptation of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and debut actress Aria Mia Loberti. Whom would you cast in a film or television adaptation of this novel? Which medium do you think it would be best suited to?
2. Along her route as a WPA Packhorse Librarian, Cussy Mary encounters an array of library patrons who become a supportive community to her. Using the details about any of these side characters, imagine a fuller story for one or more of them. Who are they? What is their backstory? What would the events of this novel be like from their perspective? How do they see Cussy Mary (as opposed to how she sees herself), and what role does she play in their lives?
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