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Dr. Richardson offers Anna the choice to open her memory vault, try to reseal it, or deal with things as they come up (p. 66). Which would you have chosen, if you’d been in Anna’s shoes?
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11
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66
|
December 19, 2025
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Anna’s home is decorated with items she collected, like the skull of an opossum and the bones of a pigeon (p. 28). What did you make of this? Why do you suppose she kept such artifacts?
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10
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76
|
December 19, 2025
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We also learn that Humbert is mad – mad enough, at least, to have been committed to several mental institutions. Is his madness an aspect of his sexual deviance or is it something more fundamental? Can we trust a story told by an insane narrator?
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11
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57
|
December 26, 2025
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Humbert's confession is written in an extraordinary language. Is this an extension of Nabokov's own language or is Humbert's language appropriate to his circumstances and motives? What does Humbert's prose hide, and where does it reveal?
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8
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38
|
December 26, 2025
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For what audience would you recommend Mercy? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar style?
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7
|
77
|
December 26, 2025
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Were you surprised by the ending? Which characters do and do not receive "mercy"? Do you think the book treats forgiveness as something one has to earn or deserve, or something given freely?
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|
14
|
137
|
December 26, 2025
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What do you make of Ivan's pivotal choice? Do you understand where he's coming from? What would you have done differently?
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14
|
122
|
December 26, 2025
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|
Nini is forced to return to the United States before she can witness the naming ceremony for an infant. She later learns the child died before the rite could be held. What did you think of her reaction? What lasting impact do you think this had on her?
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9
|
56
|
December 26, 2025
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Ivan follows AA's 12-step program, yet he leaves his behavior toward Eddie out of the process. Do you feel he cheated on the 12-step program, and do you agree with his assessment, that his sobriety is "fraudulent"?
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|
10
|
64
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Did you enjoy the setting of New York City in the 70s/80s? Do you think the same story would have been possible elsewhere?
|
|
15
|
90
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
The author has written other books in this form, with each chapter told by a different character, with links embedded. Why would a writer want to do this? Have you read other novels written this way? How is Silber's different?
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20
|
130
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Is all of Lolita the monologue of a pathological solipsist who is incapable of imagining any reality but his own or of granting other people any existence outside his own desires?
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4
|
44
|
December 26, 2025
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Having plotted Charlotte's murder and failed to carry it out, she dies through a bizarre accident. Where else does fate makes an intrusion on Humbert's behalf? When does fate conspire to thwart him? Is Humbert in a sense guilty of Charlotte's death?
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5
|
55
|
December 26, 2025
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What makes Charlotte Haze so repugnant to Humbert? Does the author appear to share Humbert's antagonism? Does he ever seem to criticize it?
|
|
11
|
66
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Dr. Richardson uses an unconventional way to help Anna tap into her childhood memories. What did you think of this method? Did it help or do harm?
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|
12
|
83
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
Should Anna still be a cop?
|
|
10
|
75
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
Humbert attributes his pedophilia (or "nympholepsy") to his childhood romance with Annabel. How far can we trust this explanation? How do we reconcile Humbert's reliance on the Freudian theory of psychic trauma with his disdain for psychiatrists?
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|
3
|
23
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
In the early stages of his obsession Humbert sees Lolita merely as a new incarnation of Annabel. In what other ways does Humbert remain a prisoner of the past? Does he ever succeed in escaping it?
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|
5
|
39
|
December 26, 2025
|
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What does art offer Humbert and that sexual passion cannot? Is this aesthetic appeal merely the mask with which Humbert justifies his perversion, or is the immortality of art the thing that Humbert has been seeking all along?
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|
5
|
49
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
What characteristics do the women narrators (Astrid, Cara, Nini, and Isabel) share? In what ways are they different? Do you see any parallels in their lives?
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|
5
|
47
|
December 26, 2025
|
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Which character's life and choices do you relate to the most? Which has stuck with you after finishing the book?
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|
12
|
121
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Overall, what did you think of Mercy? (No spoilers in this thread, please!)
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|
34
|
286
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Overall, what did you think of The Hunter’s Daughter? (No spoilers in this thread, please!)
|
|
23
|
224
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
What did you think of the ending? Anna's journey isn't over—what do you think is next for her?
|
|
12
|
104
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
Anna undergoes tests for the Lyssa variant. What do you think the inclusion of this gene type represents in the context of this story?
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|
12
|
107
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
Humbert Humbert is an émigré. To what extent is the America of Lolita an exile's America? In what ways is Humbert's foreignness a corollary of his perversion? Is it possible to see Lolita as Nabokov's veiled meditation on his own exile?
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|
2
|
26
|
December 26, 2025
|
|
Because of her father, Anna struggles with her morality throughout the book. What were your opinions of Anna as you read?
|
|
12
|
91
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
Forests play an important role in this story. Other than being a setting, what do you think is the symbolism of the forest in this book? Is there more than one interpretation?
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|
7
|
124
|
December 19, 2025
|
|
What red herrings did you pick up on, either while reading or at the end of the book?
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|
5
|
61
|
December 19, 2025
|
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Veles, also known as Weles or Volos, was widely worshipped throughout Slavik territories around the 10th century. Had you heard of this deity before reading the book? Why do you suppose the author chose to include Veles and not a better-known figure?
|
|
14
|
102
|
December 19, 2025
|