One Italian Summer

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Who were your favorite characters in One Italian Summer, and who were your least favorite? Did you relate to Katy Silver, Carol Silver, or Adam Westbrooke in specific ways?
• Did One Italian Summer remind you of other fabulist novels or works of magical realism? What draws you to this genre (if you enjoy it) or deters you (if you don’t)? How did the fabulist elements in One Italian Summer impact you emotionally?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

• All of the main characters experience loss or grief. Whose grieving and healing process did you relate to most? Consider how Katy, Carol, and Adam each respond to their loss and how their losses relate to their identities.
• How did you feel about Katy and Carol’s bond? Does it ring true to your own experiences (firsthand or otherwise) of mother-daughter relationships?
• Katy’s and Carol’s travels aid their self-discovery journeys. Have you had any travel experiences that have similarly impacted how you see yourself and your life? What do you see as the primary benefit of travel?
• Katy is caught between her feelings for Adam and her marriage to Eric. What elements of her relational conflict did you relate to? Were there elements that felt unrealistic, and why?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• The novel explores mother-daughter relationships via Katy and Carol’s relationship. How does the novel’s examination of mother-daughter dynamics relate to contemporary notions of motherhood, independence, and intergenerational relationships? 
• How do Katy’s impressions of Carol relate to the feminist experience? Why does she struggle to see Carol outside the context of the domestic realm, and what does her understanding of her mother suggest about women in the context of home and family? Consider especially the gender norms that dictated women’s lives in the 1990s versus the 2000s.

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• The majority of the novel takes place in Positano, Italy. How do you understand the symbolic significance of this setting? What does the place elicit from the characters, particularly Katy and Carol?
• One Italian Summer is peppered with images of food and dining. How did you interpret this motif? What role does food play in Katy’s growth?
• Discuss how Katy’s time with Carol in Italy changes how she sees her mother. If Katy hadn’t met this younger version of Carol, how would her grieving and healing journeys differ?
• What role does love play in the primary characters’ storylines? How do Katy’s, Carol’s, Adam’s, and Eric’s intimate relationships relate to their encounters with loss and grief?
• Compare and contrast Adam’s and Eric’s characters. Why is Katy attracted to each of them? Does each man elicit something different from her character?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• Imagine that you encountered a younger version of one of your parental figures the way Katy does her mother in Positano. What would you say to them, and why?
• Katy experiences an array of complex emotional experiences as she travels in Italy throughout the novel. Create a playlist that evokes the same moods, atmospheres, and textures Katy experiences. Particularly consider how settings, relationships, food, memories, and magic affect her psyche. What songs or artists conjure similar feelings?

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