Evidence of Things Unseen (Wiggins)

Discussion Questions
1. To what does the title refer? Does it have more than one meaning? From what source did Wiggins choose it?

2. What experience in your own life does the title speak to? What in your life gives you evidence of things unseen?

3. How does war in Evidence of Things Unseen shape the character's lives and how are we shaped by war now? What do you think Ray and Opal would have done if they had not met?

4. If Fos "were more like Flash, more cynical about the fundamental nature of mankind," might the events in Fos' life have taken a different turn?

5. Ray and Opal seemed to be bond together as one. They don't even communicate at certain times but yet they are connected to each other's feelings and thoughts. Is this unique to the characters or do couples/or close people really become that in tune with each other?

6. Would Fos have committed suicide if he could have foreseen the effect it would have on Lightfoot's life, or was his love for Opal too overwhelming?

7. Is Flash ultimately redeemed by the events that occur near the end of the novel? We find that he had overstayed his sentence in prison, citing his brother's unwillingness to hear his application for parole. How much of Flash's punishment is self-inflicted? Why did Opal seem to forgive him when he had so clearly not forgiven himself? Is he in fact making another prison for himself when he buys the derelict boat, or has he freed himself by guiding Lightfoot toward his future?

8. "In what ways, if any, do you think Lightfoot's life would have changed if he found out that Opal and Fos were not his real parents?" (Questions provided by publishers.)

_____________________

A second set of questons from the publishers:

1. Look at the McPhee quote at the beginning of the book. What is "The Curve of Binding Energy"? How does it figure in the story? Why does Wiggins use this to title three chapters?

2. Discuss "White Sands." What connection does it have to the characters and the story as a whole?

3. Talk about the character names. What do they reveal to you about the characters?

4. Recount Fos' "chance of a lifetime." (page 11) Thinking about the entire book, what is the relevance of the story on page 10 about the Curies and Becquerel and liquid radium? Why does the author include it at this point, so early on, in the book? Trace the life of Fos' x-ray machine and what he does with it.

5. What is your response to Wiggins' description of Opal and her glassblower father on pages 24 and 25? How does Opal first appear to Fos, and how is this scene significant?

6. How does Wiggins use Melville's Moby-Dick? Explore whether or not you need to be familiar with the story of Moby-Dick to understand Evidence of Things Unseen, and why. How do whales resonate throughout the story? Why does Opal's land-locked cousin make whales out of wood? Why is Lightfoot so attracted to them? Why is Flash so enamored of Melville's work?

7. Consider what Fos means when he says, "Family is a secret....That's what family is. A secret. From the world." Is there foreshadowing here, or illumination of the past? Why? What happens to Opal, Fos and Lightfoot? Discuss your reaction to Lightfoot's predicament at age nine.

8. Sharehow you responded when Lightfoot meets Flash. What does Flash mean when he says, "There are people for whom the past is important..."? (page 346) What kind of person are you?

9. Why is it so important for Lightfoot to find out about his past? What is your response when Flash tells Lightfoot, "The past doesn't hold the answers for you about who you are — the future does"? (page 360) Do you agree? Why?

10. Why do Flash and Lightfoot set out together across the country? What does it mean that "Lightfoot became more like Ahab on the bridge of the Pequod than he had ever been, steering only for the course in the direction of the thing he couldn't see"? (Page 352) Do you agree that Flash should not tell Lightfoot about his parentage? Why?

11. What does Ramona mean when she says "there are hundreds of stories out there...thousands. I can't turn the whole ocean into a sad story just for me." (Page 377) Why is this important for Lightfoot to hear? Why does Lightfoot go to White Sands? What, if anything, does this have to do with the opening section "White Sands"? What happens to him there?

12. Discuss the box that Opal was clutching when she died. Why is it called "The Box of Clues"? What is in it? What is the significance of these items? What do they mean to Lightfoot? To Opal?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)