The New Press Reading Group Guide
A Meal in Winter A Novel of World War II by Hubert Mingarelli translated from the French by Sam Taylor
Q UES T I ON S 1. A Meal in Winter opens with three German soldiers being awoken to stand attention in the brutal cold, so cold that it comes as “a shock . . . as if it entered through your eyes . . . like icy water pouring through two holes.” Why do you think Mingarelli opens with this description of the setting? (pp. 4–5) 2. Emmerich is the slowest to wake up. From this first interaction between the German soldiers, what do you expect of their relationships with one another for the rest of the novel? 3. Mingarelli begins building toward the moral dilemma very quickly, hinting at it even in the first chapter. It ends with the narrator foreshadowing, “Because we didn’t talk about it, we felt the pressure building up inside.” What is the moral dilemma the Germans must face? Is there more than one? (p. 6) 4. The soldiers decide to tell their base commander they would prefer to hunt for Jews rather than shoot them. They even skip breakfast in order to leave before the first shootings of the day commence. Do you sympathize with the soldiers’ request, given the two horrible choices they face? Why or why not? (pp. 8–9) 5. Emmerich worries about his son often, and Bauer and the narrator seem to have a tacit agreement to give him advice although they are not parents. What is Emmerich’s point of concern? Why do you think he is so focused on his son’s fate, even though he is the one at war? (pp. 13, 17) 6. While still at camp, the narrator mentions he had a good dream but won’t tell anyone about it. It is a silent rule among the soldiers to keep dreams to themselves. Does Emmerich violate this in some ways by talking about his son? Why or why not? (pp. 9–10)
READING GROUP GUIDE FOR A MEAL IN WINTER BY HUBERT MINGARELLI © THE NEW PRESS
1