Consider the nonlinear structure of the narrative. Do you think this choice was the best one? How might the text be different if Dumas had chosen to tell her story chronologically?

How would you describe the portrayal of Nazireh, Dumas’s mother? Do you sense any tension in her daughter’s depiction of her? How does her mother respond to this representation?

Dumas claims in the afterword that her father is the main character of the book, and she doesn't know how this came to pass. Do you agree with this assertion, and do you believe what she says about it? Why or why not?