Discussion Guide for Every Bitter Thing Sweet
1. Proverbs 27:7b says “To the soul that hungers, every bitter thing is sweet.” How significant is the title (and its attendant theme of hunger and yearning for satisfaction) to the lives of each of the main characters? Are their needs and longings eventually filled from within themselves, by others, or through external forces?
2. When viewing Miss Ling’s cruelty in the light of her horrific experiences in China, Odile wonders if knowing what makes a person the way they are makes it easier to forgive them. Does understanding what Rory has gone through as a boy make it any easier for her to forgive him? Does it make it easier for him to forgive himself?
3. Will Saul be sober on Monday when Rory comes to get him? Was Rory right in trying to help his father the second time around? Do you agree that a child’s responsibility to a parent is as great as a parent’s to a child? What does each of the two men need to do in order to have a wholesome father-son relationship? Is it worth the effort?
4. Odile fears that not much separates her from the girls who work in the bar as prostitutes, and that it is only by the grace of God that she has not found herself in such a despairing position. What do you think keeps a young girl from falling into such a trap? Luck? Self-awareness? Or a host of familial, social and moral influences?
5. Did Vincent really run back into the burning bar to rescue the peacock? Why didn’t he save himself when he had the chance? What alternatives to this drastic act of arson could he have explored? Just how far can one identify self with one’s personal achievements in life before the lines become dangerously blurred?
6. What makes Zenobia dally with young boys? Is it just her relationship with her husband, or is it something within herself that hungers to be satisfied? For a woman to falsely cry rape is a heinous act, because it infringes on the credibility of true victims. Why does Zenobia do it? She is selfish and spoilt, but do you think she deserves the unhappiness she suffers? Why does such an obviously intelligent woman choose to stay in a marriage that makes her so miserable, when it is obvious that she has the wherewithal to strike out on her own?
7. As Lil’ Sebastian grows, will Odile’s need to use him to fill the gap left in her life by the death of her own unborn child become greater or less? Will it further threaten her relationship with Myra? How far can a woman allow another woman to mother her child before she becomes uncomfortable or jealous? Does she make more allowances if that other woman is her daughter? How healthy or unhealthy is Odile’s fixation on Lil’ Sebastian?
8. Has Odile really found real love in Rory, or is she merely settling for a relationship that satisfies her needs at that particular time, much as she did with Vincent? She has already outgrown both Vincent and her job at the bar. Do you think she will one day outgrow Rory, or is this a love that lasts? What does Odile really want from life?
9. Violence pervades Rory’s life. He himself has committed an atrocious act of violence that resulted in the death of an unborn child. How easy has it been for you to view him with compassion? Has he been for you someone you were able to root for and wish well? Have his experiences made it any easier for you to understand or sympathize with real-life men who have committed similar acts of violence?
10. A Thirst For Rain, the precursor to Every Bitter Thing Sweet, ends with a faint glimmer of hope, yet leaves the reader with the gut sensation that things will never change. Does Every Bitter Thing Sweet leave you convinced that the lives of the main characters are so entangled that, struggle as they might, they may never be truly happy and free? Or do you believe that their lives have finally taken a turn for the better?
Liked it? Read an excerpt from Candy Don't Come in Gray
