Partita Book Club Questions

Barbara Kingsolver’s Partita was an instant New York Times bestseller upon its release in October 2026, partially because it was also the October Read with Jenna book club pick. Since the Pulitzer Prize-winning author is at the top of every book club’s to-read list, I thought I would make you a list of Partita book club questions to help guide your discussion.

Partita is a dual timeline story that follows Livia from her past as a music conservatory student to the present, in which she is married and living on the farm she grew up on. When she receives a phone call from an old lover from her conservatory days, it shakes up everything in her life. She has to decide if she is going to meet with the man from her past who broke her heart and altered the course of her life.

Jackie also created this list of Book Club Questions (+PDF). These are universal questions you can use in addition to the specific ones below. I have tried to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, but I knew that specific Partita book club questions would be incomplete without some details. If you need to refresh your memory, head to the Summary of Partita for an in-depth review.

Partita Book Club Questions and Discussion Guide

1. What did you think of the book’s title? In Kingsolver’s words, a partita is a composition made of a lot of parts with different paces and moods; it often comprises “a prelude, a thrilling allemande, maybe a slow, sexy sarabande – the contrast is the point.” Do you think the book’s structure followed that definition?
2. Did you like the way the chapters were named after musical compositions?
3. Why do you think Livia was so drawn to Sigurd?
4. Sigurd never sees Livia perform in public, and she matter-of-factly accepts it. Is she making excuses, or were his absences not important?
5. Did the preludes seem to mirror the stages of grief to you? Denial, Anger, Acceptance, etc.
6. Livia knew that Percussion and Bassoon were in a relationship when she was in school, yet she was unable to decipher the news article about the boys who got arrested and sent to the military until Cyrus’s letter. Why do you think she couldn’t figure it out before?
7. Early in the story, Livia claims Sigurd is responsible for her hand injury. After you learn of the events around what happened, do you agree?
8. Livia goes from talking of marriage with Jon Link to letting their relationship fade completely. Do you think she ever loved him in the first place?
9. Mickie felt deep empathy for Livia’s mother, despite how she treated her daughter. Did you feel that same understanding?
10. Livia feels that Sigurd left her for the Party, choosing a more important thing. He claims he left to get out of her way because he knew she was going to be a star. Do you believe one over the other, or could both things be true?
11. If Sigurd had stayed, do you think Livia would have been a pianist, or was she always destined to give up her dream?
12. The phrase “why didn’t you tell me” comes up often in this book, with Livia remarking that it always comes up AFTER someone realizes they should have been paying attention. What did you think of that? Do we put too much onus on the hurt or needy person to reach out?
13. Was Livia’s comparison to The Gift of the Magi story accurate to their love story?
14. Why do you think Barbara Kingsolver never gives Livia’s mother a proper name?
15. What did you think of the ending? What do you imagine happened that night at the farmhouse? Do you think Livia and Sigurd will stay in touch or do they have closure?
16. Do you think Livia loved Sigurd and Charlie in equal measure?
17. Livia didn’t want her baby with Sigurd; she’s not sure she’s cut out for children. She never feels like a mother, but it’s pointed out that she mothers everyone around her. Do you think she would have been a good mother?
18. Sigurd left to pursue his dream, but it didn’t pan out, and Livia ended up living a life he considers a fantasyland – almost in an idyllic way. What does that say about how much he listened to or learned about farming and communism along the way from her?
19. What did you think of Sigurd not recognizing their song?
20. Willard all but arranged Charlie and Livia’s marriage. What did you think of that and of him as a character in general?
21. What is the importance of Gaz and Dolly?
22. How did Livia’s Appalachian upbringing impact the way the classical music students and teachers saw her? How did it affect the way she saw herself?
23. Livia and Charlie both have the loss or partial loss of a limb. How does that change them? Do you think it’s part of the reason they understand each other?
24. Did having to give up on her dream mean that Livia failed? Was her desire to play music worth what it demanded of her?
25. Do you think Livia is an unreliable narrator?
26. Why do you think Sigurd is reaching out now? Do you think he wanted closure or to apologize?
27. What did you think of the various classical pieces mentioned? Did you learn something about music or learn to appreciate it more?
28. Do you relate to Livia in any way on the path not taken or a dream ripped away?
29. Demon Copperhead is not connected to Partita, but they do have the same Appalachian tie. If you read Demon Copperhead, how does this compare? Which did you like better?

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Epilogue

Will you be using these Partita book club questions for your next book club? Let us know which one sparked the most conversation if you do!