The Imposter Bride, Nancy Richler

The Imposter Bride

By Nancy Richler

(Tansley Reads Rating: 66%)

 

Icebreaker

When you were younger did you have a special friend you told all your secrets to or did you put them in a diary?

Questions

1. What do you think Sol saw in Lily that caused him to reject her as his bride? Do you think that, in the end, Sol still regretted rejecting her?

2. Why do you think Lily went to the home of the relative of the girl whose identity she had stolen? Why did Ida Pearl keep silent about Lily’s real identity?

3. What does the novel suggest about whether families are born or made?

4. Why did Lily leave? Was it an act of abandonment, an act of survival, or an act of love?

5. Why do you think Lily started sending Ruth rocks? What did they mean to Lily and what was she trying to say to her daughter?

6. There are many secrets in The Imposter Bride, beginning with Lily’s true identity. What secrets do other characters keep, and how do you think the secrets ultimately help or hurt their loved ones?

7. Why was Mr. Czernowitz’s son introduced into the story? Why weren’t we given the reason(s) for his father’s breakdown?

8. Do you feel Lily bore any responsibility in the death of the girl whose identity she stole? What do you think about her taking the diary, diamond and identity papers from the dead girl?

9. After years of romanticizing her mother, does Ruth find what she was hoping for when they meet? Why didn’t Lily ask her mother the reason she sent the rocks?

10. The Imposter Bride shifts time periods and narratives several times, sometimes providing different perspectives of the same event. Are there any characters you wished had revealed more of their own perspective?

11. What might Ruth’s life have been like had Lily taken her with her when she left?

12. Why do you think Ruth felt compelled to take the diary to Jerusalem? Do you think she ever returned home?

13. What would have been the perfect ending of this story for you?

14. Is there anything we haven’t covered that you would like to discuss?

15. Quick round – what did you think of the book?