4. There are many groups of siblings in this book, some estranged, some close: Hari and Shiva; Meera and Leela; Bharati and Ash; Urvashi, Sunita, and Ram. What is the importance of the sibling relationship in the book?
5. Why do you think Ganesh has such an attachment to Leela? Why is it that he is concerned about her above all others?
6. The book presents two different explanations for Leela’s fainting at the wedding: seeing Bharati, or seeing Ganesh. Which do you think is right? Could they both be possible?
7. What is Ganesh’s relationship to Leela’s Book? Is the book he has Linda transcribe the very book that we are reading? If so, do you think Ganesh is a reliable narrator?
8. What do you think of Vyasa? Does your opinion of him change over the course of the story, and if so, how?
9. Why do you think Leela hides the secrets of her past from Hari? Why did she marry him in the first place?
10. Why does Shiva Prasad harbor political ambitions? Do you think his reputation will improve when he follows Dharma and retires to the forest?
11. One theme of the book is reconciliation, and by the end of the book there have been several notable reconciliations. However, there are notable conflicts and dilemmas that have not been resolved: the relationship between Aisha, Humayan, and his mother; the relationship between Ash and Ram. What do you think the future has in store for them?
12. The book ends with Leela’s promise that she will write a book for Bharati. Why do you think Leela is doing it, and what do you think its contents will be?
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Copyright © 2011 by Alice Albinia
First published as a Norton paperback 2013
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Albinia, Alice, 1976–
Leela's book : a novel. — 1st American ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-393-08270-8 (hardcover)
1. Weddings—Fiction. 2. Ganesa (Hindu deity)—Fiction.
3. Delhi (India)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS6101.L42L44 2012
823'.92—dc23 2011040074
W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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www.wwnorton.com
ISBN 978-0-393-34393-9 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-393-08349-1 (ebook)
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