Still Life

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

1. Reflect on the way Ulysses is shaped by his relationships. Have you had a romantic, platonic, or familial relationship that has significantly altered the course of your life?

2. Discuss the role of art and beauty in the novel. Has a book, poem, work of art, or piece of music ever changed how you see the world or helped you through a difficult time?

3. How have historical events and cultural shifts impacted your life or those close to you? 

4. Is there a place such as a house or a city with deep spiritual or emotional significance to you? How has place shaped your sense of self?

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

1. Analyze the book’s depiction of changing societal attitudes toward traditional family structures in the mid-20th century. How do the characters’ lives reflect these evolving views? What relevance does this depiction have to the contemporary world?

2. Discuss the novel’s celebration of LGBTQ+ identities. How does the author explore living authentically at a time when exploring one’s orientation was not only taboo but illegal?

3. Explore the novel’s depiction of life during World War II. How does the wartime/postwar setting shape the characters’ lives?

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

1. Analyze the author’s use of multiple perspectives combined with time jumps. How does this narrative structure affect your understanding of the characters’ journeys?

2. Discuss the symbolism in Ulysses’s name. How does Ulysses parallel Homer’s Odysseus from The Odyssey? 

3. What does the novel suggest about the way art connects individuals and inspires transformation?

4. Reflect on the novel’s title. A still-life painting depicts inanimate objects, focusing on composition, light, texture, and shadow. With this in mind, what is the title meant to communicate?

5. Discuss the physical setting of Italy as a symbolic exploration of freedom and liberty.

6. Analyze the significance of the book’s allusions to E. M. Forster. If you’ve read Forster’s A Room With a View, what parallels exist between the two works?