1.Eneas is dogged throughout his life by the collapse of his friendship with Jonno Lynch and the fallout that accompanies it. How does their relationship change throughout the course of the story? In what ways does it remain constant? How does their relationship fit or defy our conventional notions of a hero/villain relationship?

2. Avenue 1 1/2, Galveston's red light district, makes a deep impression on Eneas, despite the brief amount of time he spends there and his apparent rejection of the pleasures it offers. What does the area represent to Eneas, and how does this contribute to our understanding of his character?

3. Eneas and his friend Harcourt are described as "scraps of people both, blown off the road of life by history's hungry breezes." Consider their relationship—what they have in common and how they differ. In what ways do Sligo and Lagos share for them a similar appeal, as well as similarly insurmountable obstacles?

4. Roseanne, Eneas's sister-in-law, is a mysterious character with whom Eneas seems to share a deep but elusive connection. What does she represent in the story, and what does her relationship with Eneas tell us about him?

5. The clothes one wears, and the people who produce them, are important concepts in the book. There are vivid descriptions of men in dark coats; Eneas's father is a tailor by trade; and much is made of the blue suit that Eneas dons late in the story. How does the author's use of the clothing motif contribute to our understanding of the characters, and the changes some of them undergo?

6. The archetypal wanderer, Eneas McNulty has "longitude and latitude written in his bones." He spends an extended period of time in a number of places, but is always driven on again by circumstance. Consider his time spent in Galveston, France, and Lagos. How does each location provide elements of home that Eneas longs for? What does each location lack? In what ways is his home on the Isle of Dogs different from his previous stops, and how is it an appropriate final destination?