The Many Daughters of Afong Moy

Lai King faces xenophobia and racism from a very early age. How does that affect her interaction with the world around her? How does her experience of racism change and evolve as the plague strikes, during the quarantine period with her parents, and/or as she sails to Canton?

Do all characters stand up to racist violence? If not, how else do they respond? Does Ford put the onus to change on the shoulders of the perpetrators or the survivors?

Ford makes several allusions to “Annabel Lee” and poetry in general. How do these recurring allusions affect our understanding of the story? How does Ford use them to create patterns across generations?

Zoe’s storyline features a relationship between members of the same sex. How does Ford depict the difficulties of such a relationship in an anti-LGBT environment? Does the age gap between Zoe and Mrs. Bidwell complicate that depiction?

How does Ford balance history, scientific projection, and fiction in this novel?

What are the patterns of generational trauma in the novel? How do circumstances and choices remain consistent or change from generation to generation? Does the novel suggest that each of the daughters of Afong Moy is doomed to live out her life, or is there room for agency in their lives?

What positive things—strengths, good qualities, etc.—are passed down from Moy to Moy? What role do these play in the novel?

Ford is known for his lyrical style. How does this lyricism contribute to our understanding of individual characters, their histories, their choices, and the potential for epigenetics to heal them?