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Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

The Mystics of Mile End

1. Why do you think the author set this book in Montreal’s Mile End neighborhood? What does the setting add to the story? 
 
2. David is depicted as a secular professor. Do you think he is a spiritual person, if not a religious one? How does his relationship with religion change after he is diagnosed with the heart murmur? 
 
3. How are Lev and Samara different? How are they alike? Why do they adopt such opposite attitudes toward religion as they grow up? 
 
4. Is Samara a sympathetic character? Why or why not? Is it important to your experience of the book that you like her? 
 
5. Why do both David and Samara grow obsessed with the Tree of Life? And why is the outcome different for each of them? Can you relate to this sort of obsession? 
 
6. When Samara begins to climb the Tree of Life, she chooses to send letters to Alex. Why him? 
 
7. Mr. Katz’s neighbors see him as deranged. Are there any moments that suggest he may not be so crazy after all? What do you imagine led to his obsession with recreating mystical trees? 
 
8. In one of his stories, Mr. Glassman lists words that don’t exist but should. What do you think he wishes he could say to his wife, and what does he say after the book ends? What are some experiences that you wish you had words for? 
 
9. A Jewish legend quoted in this book tells of four sages who enter a holy garden: one dies, one goes mad, one “cuts down the plantings,” and one comes out intact. Do you see parallels between them and the characters in this novel? 
 
10. Where do you think Samara and Lev will be in 10 years? What will their relationship be like over that decade? Will Jenny still be in their lives? Will Val? 

The Mystics of Mile End
by Sigal Samuel