Book Club Questions for The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman

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Book club questions for The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman takes an in-depth look at this heartfelt novel about second chances. There will be spoilers so for more context about the story, check out my spoiler-free review first.

What a lovely and joyful novel! There’s something about feel-good stories that really provide the right remedy. I found Augusta to be a sympathetic and engaging protagonist. I felt for Irving, as we all know there was more to his story.

And I just love the ending. One of the best of the year.

Let me know your thoughts about the novel below!

The Synopsis

On the cusp of turning eighty, newly retired pharmacist Augusta Stern is adrift. When she relocates to Rallentando Springs―an active senior community in southern Florida―she unexpectedly crosses paths with Irving Rivkin, the delivery boy from her father’s old pharmacy―and the man who broke her heart sixty years earlier.

As a teenager growing up in 1920’s Brooklyn, Augusta’s role model was her father, Solomon Stern, the trusted owner of the local pharmacy and the neighborhood expert on every ailment. But when Augusta’s mother dies and Great Aunt Esther moves in, Augusta can’t help but be drawn to Esther’s curious methods. As a healer herself, Esther offers Solomon’s customers her own advice―unconventional remedies ranging from homemade chicken soup to a mysterious array of powders and potions.

As Augusta prepares for pharmacy college, she is torn between loyalty to her father and fascination with her great aunt, all while navigating a budding but complicated relationship with Irving. Desperate for clarity, she impulsively uses Esther’s most potent elixir with disastrous consequences. Disillusioned and alone, Augusta vows to reject Esther’s enchantments forever.

Sixty years later, confronted with Irving, Augusta is still haunted by the mistakes of her past. What happened all those years ago and how did her plan go so spectacularly wrong? Did Irving ever truly love her or was he simply playing a part? And can Augusta reclaim the magic of her youth before it’s too late?

Book Club Questions for The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern

1. The story is told in two timelines: 1920s Brooklyn and 1980s Florida. What are your thoughts about the dual timeline story? Why was it the right fit for this novel?
2. When we meet Augusta as she’s about turn 80, we learned that she had no desire to retire from pharmacy work and even lied to keep working. Why do you feel Augusta didn’t want to retire?
3. But eventually Augusta does retire and relocated to Southern Florida to a retirement center. And in Florida, she is shocked to run into Irving. What did you think about their reunion?
4. There’s lots of details of 1920s Brooklyn, including the pharmacy store Augusta’s father owns. Were there any memorable descriptions of that era that stuck out to you? Did you learn anything new about that time period?
5. Augusta’s Great Aunt Esther moves in after Augusta’s mother dies. And she brings her unconventional remedies to the neighborhood. When it shows the remedies can work, Augusta comes intrigued by it as well as the pharmacy side of healing. Let’s discuss why Augusta was so engaged with working to heal people in need.
6. Why do you think Aunt Esther and Augusta’s father disagreed over each other’s methods? What could they have learned from each other if they worked together?
7. What was your impression of Augusta and Irving’s love story during the ’20s?
8. There’s an interesting mafia angle with the Diamond family, especially Mrs. Diamond. How did that help create conflict in the story?
9. Should Irving had been more forthcoming to Augusta about Mrs. Diamond’s blackmail methods or do you understand why he didn’t tell her the truth?
10. Why did Augusta try the love elixir on Irving?
11. Augusta never married or had children. Do you think she was ever able to move on from Irving?
12. Let’s talk about the big reveals at the end during Augusta’s birthday dinner, including the fact Irving never took the love elixir.
13. What are your thoughts about the ending, especially Augusta and Irving rekindling their romance?
14. There’s many themes in the novel including second chances, lost love, family loyalty and more. Which theme most stuck out to you?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club question for The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, thisis a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. 

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.  

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

Happy reading!