Memoir · Book club
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas book club questions
Here are 12 book club questions for The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. Copy them, print them, or bring them up one at a time.
The 12 questions
- 1.
Stein writes in Alice's voice to write about herself. What does this strategy allow her to say that straightforward autobiography would not?
- 2.
The salon at 27 rue de Fleurus appears here as a center of modernism. What does a salon like that require — socially, economically, personally — to function?
- 3.
Stein makes large claims about her own influence on writers and artists. Which of those claims feel supported by the book and which feel like wishful rewriting?
- 4.
Alice as character is warm and slightly self-effacing. Does it matter that we are seeing her through Stein's pen rather than her own?
- 5.
Hemingway and Stein had a famous falling out. Based on how she describes him here, what do you think happened between them?
- 6.
The book was published in 1933, when many of the people it describes were still alive and could respond. How does that condition seem to have shaped what Stein chose to say and not say?
- 7.
What is Stein's theory of genius? She mentions it explicitly about Picasso and about herself. Does it hold up as a concept?
- 8.
The memoir is set almost entirely in social scenes — meals, visits, arguments. What can be understood about a person from that kind of social documentation that a more interior memoir couldn't convey?
- 9.
Stein and Toklas were a same-sex couple living openly in Paris in the early twentieth century. How present is that fact in the book, and how does Stein handle it?
- 10.
The book is deliberately accessible compared to Stein's experimental work. Is there anything lost in the legibility — does it feel like a concession?
- 11.
Several artists Stein championed became major figures; others she dismissed have been reevaluated. What does her track record suggest about the limits of taste-making?
- 12.
If you could sit in on one afternoon at 27 rue de Fleurus as described in the book, what conversation would you most want to observe?
How to run the discussion
- Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
- Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
- Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
- Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.
Themes worth steering toward
If the conversation stalls, these are the threads that usually restart it.
Common questions
What are good book club questions for The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas?
Here are 12 book club questions for The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein, ordered to open easily and end somewhere worth arguing about. The strongest openers ask what each reader noticed rather than what they concluded, and the discussion usually turns on modernism, identity, art and artists.
How long should a book club discussion of The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas last?
Most groups run 60 to 90 minutes of actual discussion. That is roughly six to eight questions, not all of them, so pick the ones that suit your group rather than working down the list in order.
What are the main themes in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas?
Modernism, Identity, Art and artists, Expatriate life, Collaboration. Those are the threads most likely to divide a room, which makes them the useful places to steer a discussion that has gone quiet.
Picking the next one? See books like The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas or questions for other book club picks.
