Bitter in the Mouth

Although race isn’t explicitly addressed until Part 2, it forms a key part of the text. What is Linda’s experience growing up looking Asian in the American South? What claims does the novel make about race and racism in America?

The novel addresses themes of femininity and misogyny, particularly from the perspective of Linda and Kelly trying to make their way as atypical girls. What claims does the novel make about the experience of women in America? How do Kelly and Linda handle their experiences differently? To what extent are their pressures different?

Why does DeAnne choose to ignore Bobby’s rape of Linda? Why does Linda choose not to address it when she reconnects with DeAnne?

What function does Linda’s synesthesia serve for the novel? Is it just another quirk of Linda’s personality, or a red herring to remove our attention from Linda’s race? Is there a deeper significance to the fact that Linda tastes words?

To what extent is Iris a sympathetic character? In the end, does Linda admire her, detest her, or something more complex and nuanced than either pole?

What claims does the novel make about change and progress? Is the novel fundamentally pro-change? In what ways does it resist change and embrace tradition? In what ways does it change and resist tradition and convention?

What is the narrative function of the trio of North Carolina myths woven throughout the text? What ties the myths together, and what ties them to the rest of the text? Is the novel stronger for including them, or do they merely distract from the real story?

Choose one of the following: truth, love, family, or memory. How does the novel complicate your chosen concept? To what extent does Truong undermine a definitive existence of the concept? How do you think the novel chooses to define the concept?