Introduction

In 1885 Iowa, Sara Moore is a dutiful daughter, but when her father tries to force her to marry his younger partner, she must choose between the partner-a man who treats her like property-and James Youngblood-a kind man she hardly knows who has a troubled past. When she confronts her father, he beats her and turns her out of the house, breaking all ties, so she decides to elope with James to Kansas City with hardly a penny to their names. In the tradition of Willa Cather's O Pioneers! and Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Earth's Imagined Corners is a novel that comprehends the great kindnesses and violences we do to each other.

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Excerpt

Chapter 1
Anamosa, Iowa, 1885

Sara Moore should have nothing to fear this week. She had been meticulous in her entering into the ledger the amounts that Minnie the cook requested she spend on groceries. She had remembered, just, to include her brother Ed’s purchase of materials to mend sister Maisie’s doll house and to subtract the pickling salt that she had purchased for sister Esther but for which Esther’s husband Gerald had reimbursed her. She stood at her father’s shoulder as he went over the weekly household accounts, and even though her father owned Moore Grocer & Sundries from which she ordered the family’s groceries, he still insisted she account for the full price in the ledger. “No daughter of mine,” he often said, though sometimes he would finish the thought and sometimes his neatly trimmed eyebrows would merely bristle. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. The title of Earth’s Imagined Corners comes from John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet VII.” Why might the author have chosen a line from this poem as her title? How does the poem relate to the novel’s action, characters, or themes?
2. The novel is set in small-town Iowa and then the metropolis of Kansas City. How are these settings characterized? Do these settings support or detract from the action and themes of the novel?
3. Historical fiction is often set during well-known events in history such as the Civil War. However, Earth’s Imagined Corners is not. Does it add or detract from the action of the story?
4. Historical fiction is said more to reflect the time in which it is written than the actual historical time period in which it is set. Which aspects of Earth’s Imagined Corners are a reflection of 1885 and which reflect present-day sensibilities?
5. Writers of historical fiction are faced with both remaining true to the historical period yet making the actions of the characters relatable by updating certain things. For example, in Earth’s Imagined Corners, the dialog has the flavor of the time but does not strictly represent how people talked in that time. What do you think about this? Where should the line be?
6. There are echoes of the legacy of large forces—such as the Civil War, racism, and waves of immigration—throughout the book. Where do you see these echoes? Is there a larger message about the historical, societal forces that shape us?
7. Certain events in Earth’s Imagined Corners are based on real events. For example, the hanging of Moses is based on newspaper reports of a similar event at the time. Also, the rats coming out of the ground near the offal pipe is based on an incident in the 1960s in Kansas City. What are a fiction writer’s responsibilities to history? What are her or his responsibilities to the readers’ experiences?
8. One of the themes of Earth’s Imagined Corners is poverty. How does Sara’s experience of money change over the course of the book? James’s experience of money? Do you think it’s an accurate representation?
9. Another theme is romantic love versus married love, as well as the difference between courting in the 1880s versus courting today. Social pressures were much more “Victorian” in the 1880s. How does the author try to convey the differences between then and now? Does she do it effectively? How does Sara and James’s relationship change over the course of the narrative?
10. Women had few rights in the 1880s. They could not vote at this time, and they had just gained the right to own property and earn their own money in the U.S. Does the author effectively convey the danger in which Sara places herself with her decision to elope with James?
11. Both Sara and James have had challenges in their upbringings—Sara’s father was very controlling, and James experienced severe poverty and unsettled circumstances. How do these upbringings manifest themselves in their adult lives and what does it bring to their marriage?
12. How is race represented in Earth’s Imagined Corners? Does this representation tread new ground, or does it seem to rehash things you’ve read before? What are a writer’s responsibilities when it comes to race? Should an author write about people of a different race?
13. One of the pitfalls of writing about race is to stereotype minorities as evil. Another is to stereotype minorities as good. How does Earth’s Imagined Corners walk this delicate line?
14. This time period saw “a cult of death,” with the deaths of prominent citizens reported in gruesome and salacious detail in the newspapers. There were many rituals around death. Today, we have largely swept death under the rug. Which is the healthier approach? Why the differences in approaches then versus now?
15. James has a hard time finding work. Do you think this accurately reflects the time period? What forces, both historical and personal, cause these challenges? What might James have done differently?
16. James is severely injured and in a coma for days. Discuss medical science at the time versus medical science today. What are the differences? How does this trauma effect James? Do you think James is to blame for his later actions, or is it due to the head trauma?
17. What is the dog Opal’s function in the book? Introducing a vulnerable character such as Opal or a child into a story is dangerous. It can tug at your heartstrings, but then it can seem gratuitous if that character is killed off. Does the author effectively walk that line?
18. The flood is reminiscent of the flood in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God. If you have read this classic, how do the floods compare? In general, what narrative purpose do natural disasters such as floods serve? Does it seem natural to the story (i.e., did the author prepare you well enough?) or does it seem out of left field (i.e., deus ex machina)?
19. Did you like Sara? James? Does a female character need to be “likable”? Does a male character?
20. The novel could be considered a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel. What other bildungsromans have you read, and how does Earth’s Imagined Corners compare? Why do we keep returning to this type of story?
21. Does Sara’s story end in triumph, despair, or a mixture of both? Are you satisfied with the ending? Would you have liked more closure? Or do you like an ending to be looser and less tied into a nice bow?
22. Did you like the book? If so, why? If not, why not?

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