Sweet Sorrow (Nicholls) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. What kind of portrait does the book paint of adolescence? How is it characterized and what makes it  remarkable? What does Charlie think is "the greatest lie that age tells about youth" (165)? As he looks back upon the summer of 1997, what does he seem to have learned or taken away from the experiences he had?

2. Consider how the novel offers up a dialogue about the power of art. How does learning Shakespeare change Charlie and alter the course of his life? How are he and others in the book affected by their newfound interests in music, art, and theater? How have the arts been influential—either directly or indirectly—in your own life?

3. What does the book reveal about the dual themes of nostalgia and memory? How does the author’s choice of narrator play a part in this? Is Charlie a reliable narrator? How does he view his past and how has his way of looking at the past changed? Is there a time in your own life that you feel particularly nostalgic about? Why do you think these particular memories are so enduring?

    …Alternatively, is there a time or event in your life that you felt nostalgic about something that has since lost its power? If so, why do you think this is? What does the book ultimately suggest about memory and our relationship with our past? How does the book’s epigraph correspond to what the book reveals about memory and storytelling?

4. What does Charlie mean when he says that he "watched a cult of nostalgia grow" (97) over the years, and what, in his mind, caused this growth? How does he think this influenced the cultural relationship between memory and storytelling? Do you agree with him? Discuss.

5. Explore the major theme of love. What kinds of love are depicted in the novel? How does the book characterize first love?Where does Charlie say the story of first love really lies? How does the book’s treatment of love change or evolve as readers have an opportunity to see the characters as adults? How would you say the book ultimately defines love?

6. What does Sweet Sorrow suggest about cultural gender norms and, specifically, masculinity? As Charlie grows up, what do he and his friends believe masculinity is? What is his relationship like with Harper, Fox, and Lloyd? How do they spend their time and how do they relate to one another?

   …Why doesn’t Charlie tell his friends about his involvement with the Full Fathom Five? What does he notice is missing in his relationship with these friends? What role might these norms have played in his relationship with his father and how did it affect that relationship? How have cultural ideas about masculinity evolved—or remained the same—during your own lifetime?

7. How does Charlie’s story parallel that of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet? What common themes, symbols, and motifs do the two stories share? What leads to the downfall of the protagonists in each tale? Does either story offer any portrayal of catharsis or redemption? If so, how is this achieved?

8. Reflecting on the title of the book, what causes the sorrow that many of the characters experience throughout the story? How do they respond to and manage—or fail to manage—this emotion? Could their pain have been avoided? Why or why not? Do they seem to learn anything by way of their suffering?

9. What does Charlie fear most about living alone with his father? What word does he say he and his family found ways to avoid? Why do you think they went to such great lengths to avoid this particular word? What stigma does this attitude reveal? Do you think that the stigma surrounding this issue has changed much since 1997? Discuss.
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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