How is this novel similar to The Brothers Karamazov? How is it dissimilar? Which characters in The Brothers Karamazov remind you of the ones in The Brothers K?

Discuss Laura Chance in detail. How did her sexual abuse as a child affect her as a wife? As a mother? As a congregation member?

Do you see Hugh as the hero of this novel? Why or why not? Who is the hero if it is not Hugh?

Discuss the author's plot device of including documents from the "attic" of the Chance home. Does this work? Discuss what information is included in these documents and how the information might have been relayed to the reader in another fashion.

What is Kincaid's role in the family? Is he the only quiet one in the family? Does he take a back seat in the story as a plot...