Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The House of Broken Bricks by Fiona Williams

Book Club Discussion Questions

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Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The narration of the novel rotates between the four members of the family. How does this shared narration inform your understanding of the family and its dynamics? How might the novel change if told from only one perspective?
2. The House of Broken Bricks explores questions of home and belonging. What makes a place feel like home? Is it possible that more than one place can feel like home?
3. The difference in Max and Sonny's appearances is the first thing most people noticed about their family. How does this difference inform the way that people outside their family treat them? How about within their family? How does it shape Max and Sonny's senses of self and identity?
4. "It had become an unspoken rule; she tends to the inside chores, the laundry, cleaning, cooking, and so on, while he takes care of the outside things." For both Richard and Tess, work and chores become a way in which they avoid one another. Why do you think Richard is the one who takes on the outer facing roles, while Tess stays inside the house? How does this inform how other people in town see them?
5. What role does nature play in the story? In what ways are nature and spirituality connected for the members of this family?
6. How are the differences between urban and rural life characterized in this novel? How are the same landscapes interpreted differently by different characters?
7. For much of the novel, Tess is seriously considering leaving her life in the brick house behind and moving back to London. What is holding her back? What is tying her to the house and her life there?
8. Richard is the only character whose narration does not switch to first-person during his chapters. Why do you think this is? What effect does this have on your understanding of his character?
9. How do grief and grieving shape this story and its characters?
10. What do you think life will be like for this family in the year following the end of the story? What do you think it will take for them to begin to heal?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Henry Holt and Company. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.