1. Respond to this quotation from the genie in the lamp: "Do you know that only two things have been proven to help survivors of the Holocaust? Massage is one. Telling their story is another. Being touched and touching. Telling your story is touching. It sets you free."

2. How realistic do you find Dirk's childhood experiences?

3. Block moves often from "serious" scenes to "magical" scenes. What effect does this alternating between the concrete and the mythical have on you as a reader?

4. Block says in a recent interview that she identifies with the "feeling of being the outsider, and all those passionate feelings that get twisted up because there's just too much." How do people act when they feel alienated from others? How can we lessen this feeling of alienation?

5. Respond to this statement about stories. "Sometimes they burn, sometimes they dance, sometimes they weep...