Sycamore (Chancellor) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for Sycamore … then take off on your own:

1. In the opening chapter, Jessica Winters is new to Sycamore and having trouble adjusting to both her new home and her parents' divorce. Does author Bryn Chancellor portray teenage angst and anger convincingly? What do you think of her friendship with Dani? And Dani's father? Would his "interest" in Dani have been handled differently today?

2. What do you think of Maud as a mother? As a person? How do you consider the relationship between mother and daughter?

3. Another newcomer to Sycamore is Laura Drennan, also coming out of a failed marriage. She, of course, is the one who finds the remains, which sets the story in motion. Laura views her move to Sycamore as "an entire split from the past." She would  be happy to "burn the whole f***ing thing down and to see if she could rise from the ashes." What do you think of her?

4. Consider the town locals, some of them generations deep. What are their dreams and disappointments? Each of them — Iris Overton, Stevie Prentiss, Adam Newell, and Esther Genoways — is alone. How do they cope with the challenges in front of them? Do you find one character more engaging than others, perhaps?

5. (Follow-up to Question 4) What effect does/did Jessica Winter's disappearance have on the town? How has the mystery haunted the residents over nearly two decades? How does the possibility of finding her remains open up new wounds?

6. The author uses her individual characters to reveal different facets of Jessica and the mystery of her disappearance. How and what do we learn from each of the different characters?

7. Comparisons are being made of this book to Olive Kitteridge. Have you read Elizabeth Strout's book? Do you see any resemblances, if so what?

8. (Follow-up to Question 7) Did you enjoy the author's use of shifting perspectives? Or did you find the numerous characters hard to keep track of? What might be the advantage of incorporating different points of view in telling a story? What, on the other hand, might be the advantage of using a single narrative voice?

9. In what way does Sycamore, the town itself, function as a character? How does the author make use of the area's landscape and atmospherics to highlight the mystery at the heart of the novel?

10. Talk about the way the author ratchets up suspense. Were you surprised by the ending? Is the ending satisfying?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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