Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Valentina and Mathilde. How does their love for their men make them alike even though they are such fundamentally different people?

Topic 2

Discuss the ways in which the war changed the soldiers and their loved ones.

Topic 3

Is war ever a good thing?

Topic 4

How are flowers important to the story?

Topic 5

Who was moral and who was immoral in the Bingo trench?

Topic 6

Discuss the importance of the nicknames given to the soldiers. How do these names show something about the people they represent?

Topic 7

Why was it so important for soldiers convicted of self-mutilation to be severely punished?

Topic 8

Discuss the importance of time in the book, especially in light of Elodie’s comments in her letter to Mathilde. Why did some of the characters change so much while others remained constant? What made Mathilde different?