1. The Occupied Garden is a personal story, but layered with historical detail. Did the authors find the right balance between these two elements? What did you think of the way the authors blended history with family lore?

2. Many memoirs are stories of famous lives. The Occupied Garden recounts the lives of an ordinary family in extraordinary times. Did that difference make you more or less inclined to read this book? Why? And why are there so few non-fiction stories about so-called ordinary people, while the common man reigns supreme in the world of fiction?

3. Often, a particular character in a book hooks us in some way. We feel an affinity to them above the others in the story. Were you drawn to someone in The Occupied Garden? Who and why, and how did that influence the way you saw the other characters in the book?

4. The authors did a vast amount of research for this book, yet in places they have imagined dialogue between their characters. What do you think of their rule of thumb, that the situation had to be real, but that they allowed themselves some freedom to roam into the minds of their grandparents in order to paint a more vivid portrait?

5. Why is the story of the Dutch royal family so consistently woven throughout the book, and how is it important to contrast and compare these two families’ experiences of the war? Did you sympathize with Queen Wilhelmina when she fled the country, or did you feel she’d let her people down? What did you make of Prince Bernhard and the other royals?

6. The church and the daring Reverend Rietveld play an important role in the story, and in the lives of Cor and Gerrit. How did you feel about the way the church was portrayed, and were you surprised when all five of the children left the church once they’d grown up?

7. What does it say about Cor and Gerrit that they rarely spoke about their wartime experiences, and yet saved their identity cards, Gerrit’s army documentation, and the Swiss postcard signed “José”? What among your own belongings might be clues to your life for future generations?

8. One reviewer called The Occupied Garden “the quintessential Canadian story,” not for its many connections to Canada — Princess Juliana’s stay in Ottawa; the Dutch liberation by Canadian soldiers — but because Canada is made up of people who’ve overcome enormous difficulty in their home countries and started afresh here. What did you think of the den Hartog family’s introduction to Canada? Did your own family come from elsewhere in recent generations, and what do you know of their reception?

9. The authors insert themselves into the prologue and epilogue, letting the readers in on who they are and what this story means to them. Why do you suppose they kept themselves out of the main body of the story and chose a straightforward, chronological approach rather than one that followed their own journey of recovering the events of their family?

10. Many dramatic events are recounted in The Occupied Garden: Henny’s escape to Switzerland, the bombing behind the house, the recovery of bodies from the dunes after the war. Choose a scene that you found particularly memorable and explain why and how it affected you.

11. The “Sunday” chapter has been called the centrepiece of the book, and is reconstructed with fragments from various points of view. Is this an effective way of recounting the events of this particular day, and why do you suppose the authors chose this method? What do you think of Niek’s “memory” that he was playing a game with Rokus, when the family version has him napping in his crib?

12. Photographs open each chapter of the book, and are also often described within its pages — Henny’s family snapshots, the pictures Cor keeps tucked in her drawer, and so on. How do these visual components act as windows into Cor and Gerrit’s world? Did the photographs impact your reading of the story, and your connection to the characters? What role do photographs play in mining your own family history?

13. What do you think of the title, and the role of gardens in the story?

14. The Dutch publishers of this book chose to call it De kinderen van de tuinder, or The Children of the Gardener. Why do you suppose they did this, and given the various characters and points of view, could you say whose story this is? Is it a love story?

15. Who should read this book, and why?

16. Who owns family history, if anyone? Would it be acceptable to you if, after your death, someone wrote a book about your life? Are there certain parameters that would make it acceptable?

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page