In January 1903, Mary Mackenzie, age 20, leaves her native Scotland to marry a Scots military attaché posted to Peking. Beginning as an unspoiled, almost naďve, young woman, we see her grapple with personal and world events in China and Japan, including two world wars, as she develops insight, maturity, and cunning in the ways of her new world. Making almost unheard-of choices for a woman of her era, she becomes a quiet force and lives well the life she chooses. Did you find this realistic? 

          The novel is written in the form of a journal and letters to friends and her mother in Scotland. Do you think that the author, a male, succeeded in writing from the viewpoint of a woman? Did he accurately describe the feelings a woman might have?

          Mary’s stifling, practically house-bound existence as a new bride found her scandalizing the European community by having an affair with a young Japanese aristocrat. Cast off by her husband and losing her baby daughter, she finds an unsuspected freedom in her rigorous, solitary new life. Do you think she really minded losing Jane?

          We see all the events through Mary Mackenzie’s eyes. Did this affect your reading and enjoyment of the novel? Did it leave you feeling that you didn’t know the other characters very well? Were you surprised at the letter from Jane? Did the discovery that Mrs. M. had paid Richard an allowance all those years surprise you?

          The Ginger Tree is a novel of growth and revelation, explaining, through one life, the subtleties of a culture we don’t really understand. We see the effects of the twentieth-century on Japan and its people as that country enters the world stage, and we always see Mary’s realism and her ability to learn and adapt and survive the tragedies her life imposes. I found this a compelling story. Mary says, "The ginger tree in the garden…remains the stubborn stranger." How did you interpret this? Did you find "The Ginger Tree" to be a good title for the novel?

          All the sexual encounters seemed very understated. Did you think the scenes portrayed Mary’s deep love for Kentaro? How about his feelings for her? Were you surprised at her other encounters? Looking back, do you think Mary felt the affair with Kentaro had been worth it? Did you feel she stayed in Japan just because of Tomo? Would you have changed the ending?