Paris Winter (Robertson)

Discussion Questions
1. How do you think the flooding of Paris in 1910 fits in to the narrative of Paris Winter? Why do you think the author choose this event as a backdrop to the story?

2. The city with its different areas, populations and architectures is almost a character in the story itself. Could the story have been set in any other city? What would have been the affect of setting it in a different period?

3.  Maud in the first part of the book is something of an innocent. How is this shown and in what ways does she change in the second part of the book?

4. How does Maud’s work as an artist affect the way she sees the world? How does this affect the writing?

5. In Gertrude Stein’s salon, Tanya and Maud are confronted with the art of Picasso. How do you think you would have reacted in their place?

6. Do you think Maud should have taken the chance to go home quietly at the beginning of the second part of the book? Is her quest for revenge understandable or just destructive?

7. How important is the Countess in the story? Do you feel she is fair or unfair in her treatment of the girls? Are they fair or unfair to her?

8. What do you think Maud’s feelings are for Sylvie at the end of the book?

9. The book tells the stories of a number of women trying to find out how to survive and how to exist in the world. Do you feel women are facing the same problems as Maud, Tanya and Yvette today?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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