1. Hester Parker is articulate and perceptive, but is she reliable as a narrator? Can we trust her version of her family’s history?

2. The friendship between Hester and Alex is unusual, largely because of the difference in their ages. Why is Hester more comfortable with Alex than with anyone else? Why is Alex willing to trust her?

3. Jeremy Donovan blames much of his unhappiness on the exceptional nature of his musical talent. Is this a legitimate complaint?

4. The Donovan family falls apart after Jeremy’s suicide. What are the reasons for this? Could this rift have been avoided?

5. Hester’s less appealing qualities (vanity, anger, bitterness) are offset, at least in part, by her sense of humor and her kindness to Alex. But is she a likeable character? How does she change over the course of the novel?

6. Caitlin and Paul blame Hester for Jeremy’s death. Are they right to do so?

7. Hester chooses to portray Jeremy’s suicide as an accidental death to the police and the press. Why do you suppose she does this? Is she embarrassed? Ashamed?

8. How does Alex help Hester come to terms with losing Arthur?

9. All of the main characters are emotionally damaged individuals, but who suffers the most? Why do you think this is the case?

10. In the epilogue Hester says that “the secret of life” is gratitude, and forgiveness. What kind of gratitude is she speaking of? What kind of forgiveness?