22+Britannia+Road+by+Amanda+Hodgkinson+-+December+14,+2011


 * ** Discussion: Wednesday, December 14, after school in the Library ** ||

Synopsis
War changes us all, and sometimes we no longer recognise ourselves...'Housekeeper or housewife?' the soldier asks Silvana as she and eight-year-old Aurek board the ship that will take them from Poland to England at the end of the war, to Janusz, her husband. But she isn't sure any longer that she is a wife of any kind or whether she has a house. After living wild in the forests for years, carrying a terrible secret, all Silvana knows is that she and Aurek are survivors. In Ipswich, Janusz is getting ready for the arrival of the wife and son he hasn't seen in six years. After fleeing Poland and the war that left him a deserter, he has found his family a house. He works hard planting a proper English garden to welcome them and to distract him from his own secret. But the six years apart have changed them all, and they must learn that love can't work unless there are no secrets. To make Aurek a real home, Silvana and Janusz will have to come to terms with what happened to them during the war, accept that each have changed immeasurably and allow their beloved but wild son to be who he truly is.

[|Amanda Hodgekinson]

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**Questions and Topics for Discussion**

**1.** On the ship to England, Silvana is asked if she's a housekeeper or housewife. Why does this question jar her? **2.** Aurek thinks of Janusz as "the enemy." How do his feelings change over the course of the book, and why? **3.** Hodgkinson toggles back and forth from the past to the present in this novel. How does telling the story in this particular way affect the experience for the reader? Could she have told it in any other way? **4.** Janusz longs for an English life. What are some of the things he does to try to adapt and assimilate to his new homeland? **5.** The relationship between Silvana and Janusz and their English neighbors Doris and Gilbert is complicated. Do you believe they are genuinely friends? **6.** Silvana is obsessed with discarded clothes and photographs of children. What do these objects represent for her, and how do they comfort or help her? **7.** What is it that draws Silvana to Tony? How does her relationship with Tony differ from her relationship with Janusz? **8.** When he learns the truth about Silvana, Janusz tears up his English garden and begins planting trees. What does this act accomplish for him? **9.** Almost everyone in this novel has a secret—is there any instance in which keeping the secret might have been better in the end? Are secrets always destructive in relationships? **10.** In the final third of the book, there's a shocking revelation about Silvana's past. How did you react to this development? How did it make you feel about her as a character? [|Read //O//'s review of //22 Brittannia Road//] Read more: [|http://www.oprah.com/omagazine/22-Britannia-Road-by-Amanda-Hodgkinson-Reading-Guide#ixzz1gRjIxOQI]

1-Rate the book on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the best. 2-Who was your favorite character? 3-Who was your least favorite character? 4-Did the book peak your interest from the start or did it take awhile to get into? 5-What was your favorite part? 6-Feel free to discuss any other parts of the book.7- Do you have another special book you would recommend?