Answer: 1) The novel opens with a single statement: "It's an old story." How do you interpret that line?
2) Prayers for the Living is written predominantly as a monologue by Minnie Bloch. Why do you think the author chose to have Minnie tell the family's story? What do we gain by having her as our narrator, and what might we lose? To what extent do we believe her narration of events or call that narration into doubt?
3) What does it mean to have a female character (Minnie) narrating the story of a traditional fallen (and male) hero (Manny)? What complications may arise when a male author writes a female character?
4) Rabbi Manny sees his major challenge as choosing between living a blessed life or a successful life. How does this perception affect his actions? Do you believe that it is accurate? Would you frame this dilemma in another way? How?
5) As the book moves along you can see that it is, in many ways, a traditional family epic. But in other respects, the narrative isn’t conventional at all. What are some of its more surprising, less traditional aspects?
6) How do you interpret the bird in Manny’s vision? Does the author make it seem like an actual part of reality or a vision or a hallucination of the main character? Can it be both? Or is there some other way to try to understand what it means?
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