Outside Valentine Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Outside Valentine.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Outside Valentine is a novel told in three voices, with three points of view. What are the unifying themes that tie the parts to a whole?
   
   
2. When we meet Lowell in 1991 he is a man at the crossroads whose past has caught up with him. Susan insists that he retrieve the safe-deposit box but he avoids doing so. Why has he so totally isolated himself? What prompts Lowell to reevaluate his life at this point?
   
   
3. When Susan pores over all the news items she has collected about Charlie and Caril Ann, what strikes her most is the love they share. She sees a photo where they seem all tangled up in each other. Her response is to wonder if she will ever love like that. Is Susan's search for love rewarded?
   
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Picador. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.