Discussion Questions
1. "Through Lev’s eyes, we see London as the incomer views it and it is not an attractive sight: alternately moneyed and poverty-stricken, its inhabitants obsessed by status and success." (Edward Marriott, Observer)
Do you agree with Marriot’s assessment of how Lev views London, and do you feel Tremain paints a realistic picture?
2. In her author interview Rose Tremain says "I've deliberately built my fictions around characters who are distant from me, in gender, place or time—or all of these. The moment I get close to my own biography, I feel boredom (and even mild self-dislike) creeping up on me."
Does this reflect your own feelings as a reader? Do you prefer novels which reflect your own experiences or take you somewhere else? What do you think you have in common with Lev?
3. Food is a very important motif in the novel. How does Tremain illustrate Lev’s journey in terms of food? Why do you think she only begins to describe the food of his own country towards the end?
4. In the author interview Tremain says that in her view, "most Brits want to be welcoming to migrants, but have worries—or indeed extreme anxieties—of their own which sometimes prevent them from doing this."
Do you believe that is true in your country? What worries and anxieties do you think Tremain is referring to and how are these played out in the novel?
5. Have you ever lived in another country? If so, how far did your experiences reflect Lev’s? What did you find challenging about establishing a new life in a different culture? Did it affect the way you read the novel? If not, do you think you could ever do what Lev did? What would you find hardest to leave behind?
6. Lev’s relationship with Sophie becomes very dark when he turns violent towards her. Why do you think he has such difficult relationships with women?
7. In the end Lev returns to his family and builds a life with his new found skills and money. Why do you think that the novel has ended in such an idealistic way? Do you think that this ending is possible for immigrants?
(Questions issued by Chatto & Windus, a division of Random House, UK.)