- What is the significance of the book’s title? How does the notion of forbidden bread differ from forbidden fruit? How does this proverb play itself out over the course of Erica and Aleš’s love affair?
- Slovenia is a new and almost completely unknown nation at the beginning of the book. What sometimes ironic terms does Aleš use to define and distinguish his country? What anecdotes does he tell? How does this differ from the way the citizens of larger nations define themselves?
- In New York, before her departure, Erica struggles to explain why and where she is moving. Discuss the different responses she gets from Americans, Western Europeans, and Eastern Europeans. Is the negativity of the responses only because of the war unfolding in that part of the world? Or are there other factors involved?
- Erica visits Slovenia once before deciding to move there, and does research about the new country and its neighbors. How prepared do you think she really is for the move, and how likely did it seem that it would succeed? Did her romance with Aleš work out against all the odds, or do you think these types of relationships—between people of different cultures—often do succeed?
- Erica is shocked but amused by the Slovenian vulgarities and jokes she learns, many of which disseminate clichés about the various Yugoslav peoples. The horror of the Yugoslav wars of secession does nothing to slow the flow of such humor; if anything it produces its own brand of jokes. Discuss the use of ethnic humor and slurs in such situations. Is it only insulting? Or can it deflate some of the tension among peoples? How does it differ from the use of humor in America?
- In the chapter “Klub Drama,” Erica meets Tanja. Why does she befriend her? How is Tanja’s lifestyle distinctive? Why is she so amused by Erica and Vitaly’s efforts to communicate with each other?
- In the chapter “Loški Potok,” Erica meets her rural Slovenian relatives. What kind of lifestyle does she discover there? What does the term po domači mean? How do her impressions of life in small Slovenian towns and villages reflect on American city life or even suburban life?
- In the chapter “The Bureau for Foreigners,” Erica once again enters Slovenia’s bureaucratic maw. Though ultimately successful, it is an upsetting experience. Why is she given special treatment? How does that treatment make her feel? At the end of the chapter she concludes that every nation has its southerner. What does she mean by that? How does this truism apply to Slovenia? Bosnia? Kosovo? America?
- In the chapter “Fužine” (and in earlier chapters such as “Medvode” and “Septentrion”), Erica reports and reflects on what it is like to live in relatively close proximity to a war zone: the fear and everydayness of it, the predictability and unpredictability of it. Discuss how this differs from more common depictions of war.
- There are a number of episodes through the book that describe the Slovenian language school. Who is attending the school, and what fault lines emerge within the class? How do the Americans respond to the song Five Little Negroes? Do you think this is an appropriate response? What does the scene with the Bosnian taxi driver suggest about the possibility of different approaches to the age-old problem of ethnic divisions in society?
- In the chapter “Grožnjan,” Basta says that the song Jugoslavija! is a fake anthem. Erica retorts that all anthems are fake. What does this exchange, and other elements in this chapter, reveal about the arbitrariness of national arrangements and patriotism? Is this particular song dismissed only because of the ultimate failure of the Yugoslav union? What are the implications of this for the generations of people that thought of themselves as Yugoslav above all?
- Throughout the course of the narrative, there are a number of universal events that seem to unite people and erase cultural differences. Other things—folk wisdom and local traditions, for example—tend to emphasize differences. Discuss these events and dynamics and how the narrator and her family, old and new, negotiate the intercultural terrain. Do you think immigrants to America encounter similar situations?
- The surprised exclamation “Amerikanka!” is the response of many Slovenians and former Yugoslavs, from customs officials to the peasant saleswomen in the market place, when faced with the unusual presence of the narrator in a country that has relatively few foreigners. Describe the range of responses she receives from various locals. Does the perception of America and Americans change over the course of the book? Why?
- The narrative takes place during a key phase of Slovenia’s development: its birth as a nation-state and its transition from socialism to capitalism. What changes are observed during the course of the story? What is gained during these years? What is lost? Is the end of socialism an unmitigated good?
- As an American marrying into a traditional Slovenian family, Erica has to adapt to many different social and cultural norms, deciding what customs to adopt, and what role to play within her new family. How do you think she deals with this challenge? How does Aleš help guide her through this process, if at all? Do you think Erica, as we see her at the end of the book, is more Slovenian or more American?
