Discussion Guide

The Knife with the Ivory Handle

By Cynthia Bruchman

It is 1900. The story follows the fortunes of two orphan train riders, a black southern man the two
children rescue, and a young priest who has to find his own way into emotional adulthood. From the
first train as Annette and Jonathan cross the country to their adopters in Illinois farm country, to the
final eruption into riot, fire, and murder in a coal mining town, dramatic tension sustains through
alternating points of view. If you love psychological tension fused with plot action, this is the novel for
you.

Book club questions for The Knife with the Ivory Handle by Cynthia Bruchman

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

How does Annette act like a ghost throughout the story?
How does Casper's life swirl around the colors of black and white?
What role do animals play in Jonathan's perception of life and what does he learn from them?

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Supernatural elements and Catholicism trouble Father Kelly. How does this marriage of contrasts attribute to his emotional growth?
Prejudice is a major theme in the novel affecting all four characters in 1900. Whether vocation, race, gender, or age, how are the characters externally and internally at odds with society?
What racial challenges faced by African Americans in 1900 are illustrated in the novel?
Designed initially as a novella, how do the compact narration and alternating point of view reflect the cold realities of survival in 1900?
How are immigrants perceived and treated in 1900?
How are the rural and urban landscapes similar to their treatment of Annette?
How necessary is the family unit to the characters of the novel?

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