Reading Group Guide

1. Compare and contrast Canela’s immigrant experiences
   in the United States and France. Have you ever lived in
   another country? If so, how did your experience compare
   with Canela’s?
   
2. Chart Canela’s romantic and sexual relationship with
   Henry. How does her relationship with him compare to
   her relationships with other men, like Armando or Yves?
   
3. Why is Canela so hungry and depressed? Do you think
   there is just one reason or many reasons? Do you think
   she knows why she is depressed, or could there be something
   outside of what she shares with the reader that is
   causing her pain?
   
4. What are the different types of hunger Canela experiences
   throughout the novel? How does she satisfy her
   hunger?
   
5. What is the significance placed by Canela—and many
   young women in the United States—on turning thirty?
   
6. When applying to school, Canela tells the admissions
   woman that she wants to open a French restaurant in
   the United States so that people can experience French
   culture. Do you agree that food communicates culture?
   Why or why not? If so, then how does food communicate
   culture?
   
7. Do you think Canela’s journey to France is an act of
   courage, fear, or both?
   
8. How does Canela’s experience in France fuel her to
   return to Los Angeles to continue fighting for what she
   believes in? What did she discover—or rediscover—
   while in Paris to enable her to do this?
   
9. What role does diabetes play in the lives of Canela, her
   mother, and Luna?
   
10. Compare and contrast Canela’s expatriate experience
    with that of other famous American writers, such as
    Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, or Mark Twain.