The Girl with a Thousand Faces

How did your perceptions of Mercy (Chen Mei Chi) shi as her story unfolded? What were your predictions about the storyline as you watched her achieve justice as a ghost talker? What were your fi nal impressions in her closing scenes?

In chapter 15, when Guanyin (Kwun Yam) becomes the narrator and speaks to “you,” how was your experience transformed? What was it like to see humanity  om the point of view of a goddess—particularly one who is tasked with inspiring us to choose compassion over vengeance?

On page 118, Mami (Sung Daiyu) says to stop thinking like Westerners, who shun their ghosts and refuse to try to love them. Do the spiritual beliefs of a culture refl ect and aff ect other aspects of that culture?

Baba (Sung Ho Tung) insists that the British will protect Hong Kong. If you had been Mami, would you have trusted him, or would you have fl ed for the haunted island of Shek Ham Chau?

What did you discover about the history of China and the traditions of Buddhism and Hinduism by reading Mercy’s story? In what ways can fi ction bring clarity to historical truths?

As you were reading the descriptions of Sea Sister—at once beautiful and monstrous— what traits did she appear to embody? Why is water an appropriate medium for the novel’s mothers and daughters as they try to stay afl oat in their circumstances?

What are the sources of power for Cobra Lily and Tsang Kit Ling? What are their greatest vulnerabilities? What can we learn  om them about the limitations of identity and reinvention?

As you read the gameplan for Kowloon on page 256, did you think it was feasible? If you were to think of Kowloon as a main character, how would you describe its tumultuous, imperiled life—both in the novel and in history?

How does Red Bird help us see the impermanence of the physical body and the  agility of skin? How did you react to the exploitation of her human form?

How did the novel shape your perceptions of war? Has your personal history been impacted by warfare and its outcomes? What would it be like to imagine ghosts having an infl uence on those battlefi elds?