Build Your House Around My Body

Different cultures have their own folklore and ghost stories. What ghost stories did you grow up with?

By the end of the novel, did you feel like the three women had gotten justice?

Tan and Long’s grandmother can “travel” using only her eyes, but it has come at great cost to her body. If you had the same power, would you use it? Why or why not?

What do the snakes represent?

Why do you think the snake bit Binh? How culpable is Tan in her death?

Who do you think is more cruel in the novel: The people or the ghosts? What motivates the ghosts? What motivates the people?

The rubber forest is haunted—but, in so many ways, the people in the book are haunted too. Which is scarier to you? Why?

Winnie admires and resents Dao, the other Vietnamese-American teacher who she’s often mistaken for. Discuss her complicated feelings about Dao and where they might stem from.

Many of the characters go by two names: Winnie’s real name is Ngoan; Binh is affectionately called Bé lì; Long and Tan’s grandmother is given the name “Odile” by her cruel employer. What do their different names mean to each of them? Do you think Winnie would be a different person if she went by Ngoan at all times?

Discuss what each of the main characters wants in life. Does anyone get what they wish for?

How are the characters from the countryside different from those in the city?

Winnie says that because her older siblings were so successful, “There weren’t any American expectations left over for me.” What does she mean by this, and how does it affect her?

How do different characters, from Winnie to Jean-François, react to having mixed heritage? How does it influence the way they’re treated? How does it influence the way they see themselves?

Discuss the differences and similarities between Tan and Long.