In order to provide reading groups with the most informed and thought-provoking questions possible, it is sometimes necessary to reveal certain aspects of the storyline. If you have not finished reading, you may want to do so before reviewing this guide.

1. “She looked at the empty square, the strange straw-yellow buildings, the faded shop signs, the gray castle tower looming above: the new backdrop to her life, so different from what she’d always known.”

This is one of the first thoughts our protagonist, Anna, has as she steps into Lizzanello for the first time. How does place help to define a person? How does this set up who Anna is to you, as the reader?

2. THE LETTER CARRIER   features parallel characters, who seem to be in conversation with each other, showing the alternate paths each could have taken. Anna and Agata appear to be opposites, with Agata being a happy housewife and mother, and Anna wanting to pursue fulfillment outside of the home. And then there is Carlo and Antonio, one brother having ventured outside of their hometown; the other loyal to its streets. How does the juxtaposition of these characters color your impression of them? Does the author paint one as happier than the other or seem to take sides about which lifestyle choices seem more fruitful?

3. At one point, Anna and Giovanna are labeled “the madwoman and the outlander” by a townsperson. How have the narrow views of the roles that are acceptable for women changed since 1934, when the novel opens? How have things remained the same?

4. Agata tells her husband that “love can be learned.” Do you believe this is true? Does THE LETTER CARRIER paint this as possible?

5. Daniele’s grandfather declares he needs to “cut his teeth and learn what it means to work hard, to prove his mettle and character, to become a man,” declaring that his father “is not good at teaching him anything manly.” We see Daniele hide his workshop from his family, embarrassed of his love of sewing. How have the roles we find “acceptable” for men changed? How have our ideas of “manliness” evolved since the 1930s?

6. As the townswomen get ready to vote for the first time in 1945, Lorenza expresses her disinterest. Anna says to her, “If you don’t come, you insult yourself most of all.” What does she mean by this?

7. On Carlo’s first birthday since his passing, Anna declares, “No place I shared with Carlo can give me peace. His absence leaves nothing but a great void.” Who do you believe is Anna’s true love --- Carlo or Antonio?

8. Lorenza makes a seemingly unthinkable decision by the end, leaving her daughter behind to follow her heart. Having watched her over the almost two decades the book transpires, were you surprised by this decision? Why do you think the author decided that this is how Lorenza’s story would end?