Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

1. In the acknowledgments, Skibsrud thanks her father, who shared with her "his experiences upon which parts of this novel are based," and she writes, "although the names and some of the details have been changed, the transcript included in the epilogue is based on a real document produced during the Article 32 investigation of the incident at Quang Tri, South Vietnam, on 22 October 1967." How do these statements affect your impression of the novel?
2. In the classic movie Casablanca, the city is a supposedly neutral haven during World War II but is actually the site of a power struggle between the Allies and the Axis Powers. How is Casablanca, Ontario, similar to the Casablanca of the movie? What role does the film play in the book?
3. What is the effect of printing the transcript of the examination? How does the transcript contrast with the lyric prose of the rest of the novel?
4. The government house is a refuge for both the narrator and her father. What does the house mean to them? What are they escaping when they go there?
5. Discuss the metaphor of the town buried under the lake. What does it represent for the narrator and her father? Does it have a different meaning for Henry?
6. The transcript about the events in Vietnam contradicts the story the narrator’s father has told her about his experiences. Is it possible to determine the true course of events? Does it matter?
7. One of the narrator’s goals in spending time with her father is to come to understand him and his life. Do you think she comes to know her father? What does she learn about him?
8. When Helen is diagnosed with an ovarian cyst, she says, "Other people say they could feel something wrong…But I didn’t feel anything. I still don’t." Like the cyst, there are many things that remain hidden or out of sight in The Sentimentalists. Can you think of other examples? Is it better for the characters to know about them?
9. Much of The Sentimentalists hinges on Owen, Henry’s son. Why is Owen important to Napoleon? What is the narrator’s relationship with Owen like?
10. The final image of the book is of Napoleon’s boat sailing up the Atlantic coast. What does the boat mean to the characters of the book? Does it make for a satisfying ending?