- Almost right from the beginning of the novel, Dominique comes across as critical, aggressive and abrasive. Does she have any redeeming qualities at all?
- How does one explain Dominique's cynical attitude towards art? (p. 25)
- What is the significance of the tableau of the "trial of virginity" in the context of the whole novel?
- Can Dominique be blamed for leaving David?
- What is Max's real motivation for wanting to set Julia up on her own?
- What relevance does the biblical story of doubting Thomas have in the context of the whole novel?
- Is Neil playing with Dominique's emotions? Is he betraying Lydia?
- Are Neil's ghosts in fact like Dominique's: "grey, moot and terribly equivocal"? (p.141)
- What load of guilt does each of the characters carry?
- How likely is Dominique's theory about prehistoric art? (p.156)
- Is it true that "it never really [is] in [our] hands" ?(p.199)
- ". . . every day of our lives, we turn our backs while children drown." (p.200) In how many ways is this statement true?
- How likely is it that Colin would have forgotten the role he played in his sister's drowning?
- Why is it inevitable that Neil return to Lydia?
- Does Neil's choice of Lydia over Dominique strike you as heartless?
- In what ways, if any, has the experience of the caminó changed Dominique?
- Explain the nature of Colin's redemption.
- What does this novel have to say about man and the need for compassion?
- John Updike has said that, in his stories, John Cheever "gives us back our humanity, enhanced." Can the same be said about Santiago?
- Which of the novel's images stands out in your mind?
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