Reading Group Questions for GLASS HOUSES

1. Most courtroom novels begin with a clear identification of the victim and the accused, but Louise Penny conceals that information for much of the book. What is the impact of this unexpected structure?
2. Gamache’s relationships with multiple colleagues, from Beauvoir to Barry Zalmanowitz to the judge and others, take surprising turns in the course of the story. How do your views of those relationships change from beginning to end?
3. The weather is almost a character in many of Louise Penny’s novels, and serves a particularly important function here in establishing time and place. What are some of the most striking scenes in which weather plays a significant role?
4. With the robed figure dominating the green in Three Pines, “The villagers were pushed to the edge. Edgy.” How did the presence of that figure make you feel? By the end of the novel, how do you view the role of the cobrador del frac, both ancient, as conceived by Louise, and modern?
5. Gamache, Beauvoir, and the Crown Prosecutor are obviously men, but there are also many powerful women in Glass Houses. Who are these women, and how do their perspectives resemble and/or stand out from those of the men?
6. Chapter 3 tells us, “The officers in that room were the foundation upon which a whole new Sûreté du Québec was rising. Strong. Transparent. Answerable. Decent.” How does that passage and/or other elements in the story resonate with the title Glass Houses?
7. What do we learn about Ruth in this book, and how does it influence your view of the profane old poet?
8. When Armand, Clara, Myrna, and Reine-Marie discuss the Milgram experiment in Chapters 25 and 26, they wonder if they would have administered the final shock. What do you think they—or you—would have done in that situation?
9. There are many points at which Louise misdirects the reader about characters and plot developments in this story. What were the most shocking twists for you?
10. How do you see the significance of the lemon meringue pie (here and in earlier novels if you’ve read them)?
11. Early in the book, Judge Corriveau recalls that Gamache paraphrased death-row nun Sister Prejean during another trial: “No man is as bad as the worst thing he’s done.” How might that apply to the characters in Glass Houses?
12. How do you feel about what happens with Isabelle Lacoste?
13. “There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts,” says Gandhi. In contrast, Ruth argues, “It’s generally thought that a conscience is a good thing. But how many terrible things are done in the name of conscience? It’s a great excuse for appalling acts.” Where do you stand on the significance of conscience and its costs?
14. In her Author’s Note, Louise says, “Some might argue that Three Pines itself isn’t real, and they’d be right, but limited in their view. The village does not exist, physically. But I think of it existing in ways that are far more important and powerful. Three Pines is a state of mind.” In what ways does Three Pines exist for you, both on the page and in real life?

Reading Group Questions for THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

1. This novel is set in early autumn, with many references to apples throughout. What are some of those references, and what are some of their symbolic meanings?
2. In Chapter 4 there is a discussion about whether one can or should separate the quality of art from the character of the artist. “You’re an artist,” Reine-Marie says to Clara. “Do you think a work should be judged by its creator? Or should it stand on its own?” What do you stand on this issue?
3. How unsettling did you find the murder of a child in the story? Did you feel it was handled with appropriate respect and sensitivity? How does the author deal with the effects of the death on his friends and family?
4. The painful search for Laurent in the woods is made even more painful by the scene in which the young policemen taunt Gamache. How do you see him at that moment? Does he respond as you’d wish?
5. Ruth says in Chapter 34,“I was nice once, you know. And kind. Perhaps not the most kind, or the nicest, but it was there.” How do you view her character then and now? What guilt and other demons is she wrestling with?
6. What do you think of Professor Rosenblatt, Mary Fraser and Sean Delorme? Why do you think they have come to Three Pines, and how does Three Pines look to you through their eyes?
7. As he struggles with regrets over Laurent, the past and present threat of Fleming, and decisions about his future, what tough choices does Gamache need to make in the course of the story? What do you think of his decisions?
8. How does Clara evolve from the beginning of the book to the end (and/or, if you have read the previous books, throughout the series)?
9. How do you view Reine-Marie, both as Armand’s wife and as a character in her own right?
10. This is the first novel in which Louise has included an historical note. How does the added background affect your view of the story?
11. How do you interpret the book’s title? Ruth quotes from Yeats’s poem The Second Coming: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last/Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born.” What is the beast? In the poem? In the book? What do those lines mean to you?
12. The attractions of Three Pines are clearly immense, but so are its dangers: As Beauvoir says, “Where else would the devil go, but to paradise?” If it were a real place, what do you think it would be like to live there?

Now that we’ve made it Home, here are the official reading group questions for The Long Way Home. Discuss below, and when you’re done, enter for a chance to win a signed first edition copy of Still Life (contest now closed).

Reading Group Questions for THE LONG WAY HOME

1. Clara first approaches Gamache with great ambivalence: wanting (though fearing) to know what happened to Peter, while reluctant to disturb Gamache’s newfound peace. How did you feel about the decisions they both make at this point?
2. “I thought he’d come home,” Clara says of Peter. Did you? How did your view of him change in the course of the book?
3. What does it mean to you to be a “brave man in a brave country”? How does courage—or cowardice—feature in this novel?
4. On the first page of the book, we hear about Armand Gamache’s repeated gesture, “so tiny, so insignificant.” What is the true significance of this and other seemingly inconsequential actions in this story?
5. What do you think of Ruth’s role in this story? For example, consider the scene in Massey’s studio, where she “seemed to have lost her mind. But found, Reine Marie thought, her heart.”
6. Both Peter and Gamache’s father, in a sense, disappear. What is the impact of this kind of loss on Clara and Gamache? Have you ever experienced anything similar in your own life?
7. There is so much about art and the creative process in this book. How do we see that unfold in the lives not only of Clara and Peter, but also of Norman and Massey? For example, what do you make of the Salon des Refusés? What do you think it meant to the artists themselves?
8. What roles do creativity and acclaim (or obscurity) play in the lives of both Clara and Peter? In their marriage? Do you believe that Clara and Peter’s marriage could have been saved?
9. Louise has sometimes talked about the importance of chiaroscuro—the play of light and shadow—in her work. What are the darkest and the lightest points in this novel? What are some humorous moments, and how did you respond to them?
10. Peter’s paintings look completely different from different perspectives. How does that apply to other characters or events in the story?
11. In Chapter Six, Myrna observes about jealousy: “It’s like drinking acid, and expecting the other person to die.” How does jealousy play out in the lives of various characters here? What effects have you seen it have in real life?
12. How does Clara’s quote from one of her favorite movies, “Sometimes the magic works,” play out in the story?
13. While a number of Louise’s books end in unexpected ways, the conclusion of this one is particularly shocking. How did you feel as you were reading it, and what do you think when you look back at it now?
14. In some ways Clara’s quest to find Peter recalls such classic journeys as The Odyssey and The Heart of Darkness. What are the most significant discoveries the central figures in this novel make along the way?