Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino

1. In an angry exchange with a man she describes as having "frat boy resting face," The Bride thinks to herself, "I am a bird trapped inside another person's life, sensing its mistake and trying to exit against relentless glass." In what way does that passage encapsulate the narrator's struggle throughout this novel? How else might you describe The Bride's confusion?
2. Talk about The Bride's post-traumatic stress, the fall-out from the violent terrorist attack she suffered when she was 10 years old. Is PTSD the sum total of her confusion and lack of stability?
3. Why does her grandmother try to persuade The Bride not to go through with the marriage?
4. Talk about the novel's other characters: Tom, the narrator's brother; Rose, her maid of honor; and The Bride's mother.
5. The Bride observes, "I get the sense that the number of people who are married is not equal to the number of people that give the institution much thought." Care to unpack that statement? What does she mean? Do you think she's correct?
6. As you were reading, what did you want The Bride to do: marry or not marry?
7. Is the ending a satisfying one?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.