WATER THE COLOR OF SLATE
Discussion Questions
1. Why is Lou so nasty to Kapi, her granddaughter? Why is Kapi also so nasty and resistant?
2. What are some of the misconceptions Lou and Kapi have about each other?
3. As a reader, as the story opened, why did you think Louise went to see Juanita Rose? Were your speculations correct?
4. What kind of a person is Juanita Rose? If you downloaded the short story about her life, what surprised you? How did you feel about her and her role in Woods Portage?
5. How is Lou like, or not like, her ancestor Louise Wright?
6. How was Louise a woman of her times? How was she not?
7. What kind of judgments do we make about the places and customs of the past that color our attitude about the characters? Do we see the past as primitive/difficult/backward?
7. How are Lou’s neighbors important to the story?
8. What incident surprised or shocked you the most?
9. When Lou and Kapi explored the history of the town, and especially of Louise, what false conclusions did they draw?
10. What would surprise Lou and Kapi about the truths of Louise?
11. Speculate about what will happen with Kapi and Lou in the future? What will happen with the neighborhood friendships?
12. What did you want to know about that wasn’t included in the book?