Ghostwalk Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. Before her death, Elizabeth tells Lydia, "Cambridge is just a palimpsest"–a word meaning a parchment that has been written on, scraped off, and used again. What does she mean by this? How does that metaphor figure in the construction of the novel? Could the metaphor of the palimpsest represent anything else in the novel other than the city?
2. At Elizabeth’s memorial service, Cameron reads lines from the Wallace Stevens poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird":
   When the blackbird flew out of sight / It marked the edge / Of one of many circles.
   How are these lines relevant to Elizabeth’s death? What edges of circles, or intersecting lives and stories, does Elizabeth now mark even though she has disappeared from sight?
3. Fiction is regarded as a story invented by the imagination, whereas nonfiction is an account based on facts. Both types of literature are found in Ghostwalk, and yet the book is a novel. How do the two forms work together in Ghostwalk—does one enhance the other or detract from it? How effective, in your opinion, is fiction in conveying history? How reliable are historical accounts?

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