Questions for Discussion
1. The author contrasts the Rizha culture’s patriarchal veneer with the fundamental matriarchy that holds it together. Coming from the West, Katherine struggles to find her place in the society. Does she succeed? How are the Rizha attitudes toward family and authority different from cultural structures in the West during the 1920s? Today?
2. The myths and legends of Takau illuminate the culture. On several occasions, Katherine experiences the magic directly. How do these myths intersect with events in the story?
3. The novel skirts the issues of colonialism and Westernization. Takau was never part of the
British Empire. Katherine arrives to bring modern medicine to the slums, and Kai sees industrial-era development as a blessing, yet only Takau’s isolation has protected the culture they value. Discuss the paradox of modernization versus preservation of culture and national identity. How does Takau compare to Cuba or Burma?
4. Katherine passes judgment on Tokmol as a corrupt ‘petty dictator.’ Interactions with him throughout the story, however, reveal a more complex character trying to balance conflicting responsibilities. Do his means justify the ends? Is he an enemy or ally? Does he understand Katherine better than she understands him?
5. A central theme of the book is the price paid for unyielding idealism. When does idealism cross the line to fanaticism? Which characters cross that line? What happens when devotion to a cause takes on a momentum that runs out of control?
6. The Island Gardens of Takau can be read as an allegory of a relationship born in a struggle for a noble cause. Throughout the book, story elements and characters are identified, literally, as what they represent:
“Tor distilled the loyalty of the passionate people who surrounded me.”
“In Magra, I met the uncompromising ideal of service and devotion; though she may eventually save the world, she consumes your soul.”
What do some of the other characters and elements in the story represent? Does the allegory hold together as a symbolic representation of a relationship that runs its course?
7. “But a bridge is defiance … That is what we were doing in those days,” the narrator declares. The bridge across the Ma’rhu is both the culmination of Katherine’s efforts to improve life in Am’rha Bo and the road to ruin for all she’s loved. Is the bridge a mistake? Inevitable?
8. The narrator is the central character reflecting on the events of the story from the perspective of many years gone by. However, the author lets the narrator reveal her opinions and judgments along the way. How does this device color the story for the reader? Does the narrator come to a clearer understanding of herself in the course of telling the story? Does the reader come to a different conclusion?
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