1. Rose begins her autobiography with a list of things she has
never experienced. How does she revise this list in the final
chapter - and what does the revised passage reveal about how she
has evolved over the course of the novel?
2. As a fictionalized autobiography, The Girls
offers many insights into the art of the memoir. What challenges
does Rose encounter while writing - and how does she deal with
them? Consider, for instance, her decision to write the book
chronologically.
3. Throughout your reading, did you ever have to remind yourself
that The Girls is a novel as opposed to an actual
memoir?
4. Ruby innocently reveals information that Rose is either
withholding or simply hasn't broached yet. What impact did these
revelations have on you? How would you describe the sisters'
respective writing styles?
5. The novel contains many comic moments. Which scenes stand out
for you as most amusing?
6. The Girls has been described as ultimately
optimistic. What role does hope play in the story? How do the girls
triumph over their situation? What role does Aunt Lovey play in
helping them to become strong, both emotionally and physically?
7. "We've been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters,
devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels…In small-town Leaford,
where we live and work, we're just ''The Girls.''" What role does
language play in the novel with respect to naming and labeling?
8. 8. Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash are deeply committed to one
another and very much in love. How do you understand Uncle Stash's
infidelity in this context?
9. The novel is set near the Windsor-Detroit border, where the
Ambassador Bridge joins Canada and the U.S. Does the novel's
setting have metaphorical significance in your view?
10. Rose writes: "There is some alienation, of course, in being
so different, but it's also been fascinating, and a unique
opportunity, I think, to have observed our generation without fully
participating in it." Besides Rose and Ruby, who else might be
considered an outsider in the novel?
11. The Girls contains numerous parallels and
symmetries. For example, both Rose and her daughter will never know
their birth mother. What other parallels and symmetries - in terms
of plot, character and setting - caught your attention?
12. How did you respond to the scene with Frankie Foyle? Were
you curious about the sisters' sexuality before you reached this
chapter? What other aspects of conjoinment fascinated you or helped
you to see the world differently?
13. Discuss the various mother figures that appear in
The Girls.
14. How did you feel about the ending - in particular, not
knowing precisely what happens to the sisters?
15. Imagine that you were a neighbour or co-worker of Ruby and
Rose. Which sister do you think you'd get along with better?