A Brief History of The Flood Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. As the book opens, Lillian's mother, Marion, looks around the breakfast table at her husband and children and says, "Now this is how it's supposed to be." What does she mean? What does the author wants the reader to understand from this comment?
   
   
2. Marion creates a surprising pontoon-boat float for her family to ride on in the Acorn Lake Fourth of July boat parade. Its theme might be viewed as a baseline for eight-year-old Lillian's ideas about what life is supposed to be like. What events force her to reconsider? If Lillian, as an adult, were to construct a pontoon-boat float symbolizing her own idea of happiness, what theme might she choose?
   
   
3. Some families seem to be held together by the glue of secrets. What secrets are kept by the Andersons? Why? Would those same secrets be kept in a family today?
   
   

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