Little Faith (Butler) - Discussion Questions

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

1. You might start id a discussion of Little Faith by talking about the Hovde family relationships. How do the family dynamics among the four set them up to react the way each does when the crisis unfolds?

2. Years ago Lyle and Peg lost their baby son; as a result Lyle has struggled with his faith. Is Lyle's doubt understandable, or is there a way forward—to reconcile tragedy with belief? (This is a branch of philosophy called theodicy, which is often expressed more colloquially as "why do bad things happen to good people?")

3. Other than religious, what other kinds of faith exist in this book? What about faith in the bonds of family and community, or faith in what seems to be right? Does/should religious faith take precedence over other faiths?

4. What are your thoughts about Steven, especially his influence over Shiloh? How do you see Shiloh as a parent?

5. Where do your sympathies lie in this novel? Whom do you find fault with most?

6. The end of the novel offers no easy answers or resolutions. Do you find the ending satisfying, or would you have preferred a more definitive conclusion? Perhaps the author intended to leave it up to the reader to supply the novel's ending. If so, how would you write it?

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

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