1. What do you think of Amanda Starkey? Is she sympathetic? How does her unreliability affect your attitude towards her?

2. Is love a good thing in this novel?

3. What does the island represent?

4. What makes someone a mother? What do you feel about Amanda as a mother?

5. How does Carl relate to the women in his life?

6. How do the landscape and weather affect the behavior and outlook of the characters?

7. Should Ruth have gone to Chicago with Imogene?

8. Are Amanda and Mathilda good sisters to each other? In what ways are Ruth and Imogene like sisters?

9. Does it strengthen or weaken people to become intensely intertwined with their families?

10. Secrets figure prominently in this book. Why do we keep certain secrets and tell others? Are secrets necessary in life?