1. What does the title Restoration refer to? What are the different kinds of restoration that occur in the novel?

2. The novel opens with text from an “invitation to the National Gallery.” How does this set the tone for what follows?

3. When he and his new wife, Alice, first discover San Martino, Caludio calls it paradise. Was it a paradise for them? What were the factors that led to Claudio and Alice’s fall?

4. Alice writes in her journal that it was both her and her husband’s fault that their son died. Do they share blame? How did each contribute to the demise of their marriage and how did each neglect their son, Giovanni?

5. Why is Kristin’s school evaluation so important to her? How did it affect how she saw herself and her talent? Why does she eventually paint the Carravagio? What was she hoping to accomplish with the painting? How did that one act change the course of several lives?

6. Compare and contrast Kristin and Alice. What did you think of each woman? How did their lives parallel one another?

7. Talk about Alice’s choices. Why did she have an affair? Did her husband bear any responsibility? Was it better that she gave into blackmail, or should she have told her husband the truth?

8. In war, how is art used as a weapon as well? How was it used in Restoration? How were the Germans and the partisans portrayed?

9. Most of us cannot conceive of a war that physically invades our home. Discuss how Alice handled this horrific situation—her actions, her emotions, her choices. How would your life, your home, your family, your town, be different if war was on your doorstep? How did the war transform Alice, Kristin, and the rest of the characters in the story?

10. Did the truth about Claudio’s whereabouts surprise you?

11. What did you take away from reading Restoration?