The Sheep Queen: A Novel
An epic family saga set on the sprawling, beautiful ranches of the American West, from the author of The Power of the Dog, "a masterful novelist working at the peak of his form" (Washington Post). 

A Western family story at once intimate and epic, this rich, compelling, emotionally charged novel tells the story of the Sweringen family of Idaho: Emma, the matriarch, known as the Sheep Queen ("surely one of the most fascinating characters in current fiction" —Publishers Weekly); the daughter who disappoints her; the grandson who adores her; and the granddaughter, given up for adoption, who spends nearly half her life finding her way back to her family.

"The Sheep Queen is marvelous...Her reign has a mythic grandeur." —New York Times Book Review

"A fine novel...A sense of family as anchor and root and self-definition [gives] the book its considerable strength...Savage is a writer of the first order, and he possesses in abundance the novelist's highest art — the ability to illuminate and move." —The New Yorker
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The Sheep Queen: A Novel
An epic family saga set on the sprawling, beautiful ranches of the American West, from the author of The Power of the Dog, "a masterful novelist working at the peak of his form" (Washington Post). 

A Western family story at once intimate and epic, this rich, compelling, emotionally charged novel tells the story of the Sweringen family of Idaho: Emma, the matriarch, known as the Sheep Queen ("surely one of the most fascinating characters in current fiction" —Publishers Weekly); the daughter who disappoints her; the grandson who adores her; and the granddaughter, given up for adoption, who spends nearly half her life finding her way back to her family.

"The Sheep Queen is marvelous...Her reign has a mythic grandeur." —New York Times Book Review

"A fine novel...A sense of family as anchor and root and self-definition [gives] the book its considerable strength...Savage is a writer of the first order, and he possesses in abundance the novelist's highest art — the ability to illuminate and move." —The New Yorker
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The Sheep Queen: A Novel

The Sheep Queen: A Novel

by Thomas Savage
The Sheep Queen: A Novel

The Sheep Queen: A Novel

by Thomas Savage

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Overview

An epic family saga set on the sprawling, beautiful ranches of the American West, from the author of The Power of the Dog, "a masterful novelist working at the peak of his form" (Washington Post). 

A Western family story at once intimate and epic, this rich, compelling, emotionally charged novel tells the story of the Sweringen family of Idaho: Emma, the matriarch, known as the Sheep Queen ("surely one of the most fascinating characters in current fiction" —Publishers Weekly); the daughter who disappoints her; the grandson who adores her; and the granddaughter, given up for adoption, who spends nearly half her life finding her way back to her family.

"The Sheep Queen is marvelous...Her reign has a mythic grandeur." —New York Times Book Review

"A fine novel...A sense of family as anchor and root and self-definition [gives] the book its considerable strength...Savage is a writer of the first order, and he possesses in abundance the novelist's highest art — the ability to illuminate and move." —The New Yorker

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780316076715
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication date: 08/01/2009
Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format: eBook
File size: 691 KB

Reading Group Guide

1. At the turn of the last century, men were usually the dominant figures in their households. How and why did the Sheep Queen get to be so powerful? What privileges did this power allow her? Give examples of when this power was not enough to get what she needed.

2. Discuss how gender roles are played against stereotype in The Sheep Queen - for example, in the way that the Sheep Queen was more her father's son than daughter.

3. Discuss the theme of loss throughout the story - the Sheep Queen lost her son, Amy and her biological mother lost each other, Tom lost a childhood with Amy. . .

4. The related families in The Sheep Queen are so close-knit. Discuss how this affected the relationships between the family members and the choices they made for their individual futures. Think about the relationships within your own family in the same way.

5. Why did Beth give up her daughter for adoption? Do you think those who have been given up for adoption should seek out their biological families? How do you think that search affects these families?

6. Discuss the characters' Western sensibilities, the ties to the land, and the isolation of the West.

7. Why did Tom Burton, the narrator, escape from his family in the West to establish a life for himself on the East coast? How was life different for him in the East.

8. Discuss identity and roots and the impact Amy's discovery had on her and how that acknowledgment changed her. How does reading The Sheep Queen make you feel about your family heritage and background?

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