Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

1. Leela is a mathematician and Mishka is a musician, but they engage with their work in a similar, obsessive way. How do their work and their relationship insulate them from a tumultuous, outside world?
2. Leela is known as “Leela-May” in her hometown of Promised Land and Mishka’s passport lists his name as “Michael Bartok.” What do these different names, and later Mishka’s adoption of the last name “Abukir,” signify for these characters?
3. From the beginning of the novel, the author draws a parallel between Leela and Mishka’s story and the Orpheus myth. How does the myth play out when Cobb Slaughter descends into the “underworld” of prison cells to rescue Leela’s lover? Do you think the myth is transformed over the course of the novel? In what ways?
4. Why is Leela’s patience during questioning so irritating to Cobb? What is the tenor of his relationship with Leela?
5. Why is Leela drawn to men like Cobb and Mishka? How is Cobb similar to Mishka, despite their obvious differences?
6. Why does Leela avoid returning to Promised Land? Discuss the importance of place, the past, and the difficulty of going home in Orpheus Lost.
7. “For loss, we have music,” says Mr. Hajj, Mishka’s oud instructor. How do Mishka and his family in Australia deal with loss through music?
8. Why do Mishka’s grandparents bring Uncle Otto back to life? Do you see a connection between Mishka’s mother’s return to the Daintree and Leela’s eventual return to Promised Land?
9. Do you think that Gideon’s obsession with “magic numbers” is related to Leela’s passion for math? Discuss the significance of Gideon’s preoccupation with numbers and the divine power he believes they hold.
10. Both Cobb and Mishka wish to gain their coercive fathers’ affections. What does the novel tell us about the nature of family ties and forgiveness?
11. Does Cobb redeem himself through the suicide mission that exposes the illegal Iraqi prison in which Mishka is held? Does he redeem his father?
12. Orpheus Lost tells a fictional story, but it brings to mind recent political issues and the U.S. war on terror. How has the novel caused you to reflect upon current events?