The Postcard

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of religious discrimination, racism, and death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does this book compare to other books about the Holocaust that have both historical and contemporary timelines? For instance, Everything Is Illuminated or Maus?

2. What knowledge did you have about World War II, the Holocaust, and Auschwitz before reading this novel? What were your impressions of how the novel represented these things? Did you gain any new perspectives in your reading?

3. Due to its subject matter, were any parts of this novel difficult to read? What parts were most difficult or emotional?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. This semi-autobiographical novel depicts a fictionalized version of a postcard the author’s family received with the names of family members killed in Auschwitz. To your knowledge, is your family connected to any major historical events? If you have only a general sense of your family history, using what you know of your heritage, what events may your distant family have experienced? Do those events have any bearing on you?