Who is the novel’s antagonist? Where does the novel’s central tensions stem from? Is it from Murash, Nemanja’s family, Sále, or Bekija herself? Argue for your answer.

Is the event of Bekija’s gender transition depicted as positive or negative? What are the factors that lead to this framing, and how do these factors reveal the nuances that accompany the depiction of gender transition in literature?

Examine the character of Sále as a foil to both Murash’s rigid masculinity and Bekija’s performed masculinity. How does his characterization challenge the other characters’ notions of masculinity?

Discuss the novel’s fragmented, non-linear narration in the context of oral tradition. How does Karabash maintain the stability of the narrative while letting Matija’s voice speak entirely in fragments or run-on sentences?

Analyze the dichotomy the novel constructs around birth and death. What does the tension between them represent: hope that the cycles of trauma and violence can end or merely a temporary reprieve from trauma that cannot be healed?

Compare the social code of the Albanian Kanun to other social codes throughout the world, whether formally codified or not. Where else do you see these codes of repression and gender discrimination manifest?

Discuss the revision of Bekija’s intimate encounter with Dhana in the dairy. What motivates the replacement of this memory with one of sexual violence?

Analyze the role of the journalist who comes to record Matija’s story. What drives Matija’s decision to tell her story to the journalist? How does Matija determine what details to withhold from the story of her life?