Invincible Summer (Adams)

Discussion Questions
1. "Is it impossible for an Englishman to open his mouth without making some other Englishman hate or despise him?" or so said George Bernard Shaw, and it's certainly true that it's difficult to write about the UK without at the very least a nod to class. To what degree do you think the friends' lives and aspirations are shaped by their social class?

2. The novel aims to give a nuanced portrayal of the London's financial world and the characters in it; do you feel it succeeds in providing a good portrayal of the workings of finance and the motivations of the people working in the field? Did you come away more of less sympathetic to bankers than when you started the book?

3. We follow Eva, Benedict, Sylvie, and Lucien across 20 years and through some of the most formative experiences of their lives, including job lay-offs, divorce, prison, and raising a disable child. Do the characters respond to these challenges in a convincing and interesting way?

4. One of the central themes in the novel is finding the hope and courage to carry on despite life's disappointments and tragedies. Although the characters do not find simple solutions to their problems,do you feel the overall message is redemptive? If so, in what way? If not, why not?

5. What is the significance of the book's title? It comes from a line by Albert Camus: "In the depths of winter, I finally learned that there lay within me an invincible summer." What does Camus mean?  And how does the line relate to Alice Adams's book?

6. Invincible Summer takes place over two decades in a number of historical events, including 9/11, the credit crunch, and the discovery of the Higgs boson. How much did you feel the characters were masters of their own fates, and how much were they buffeted by forces of economics and history far greater than themselves?

7. Do you feel satisfied with the way the book ends? Would you have preferred a different ending? If so, what might that ending look like?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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