Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About This Book
In this brilliant debut novel, William Brodrick draws upon his experience
both as an Augustinian friar and as a practicing lawyer to create the
unforgettable character of Father Anselm, a monk who must search the darkest
corners of history to try to fathom the human capacity to do evil.
When Eduard Schwermann, an alleged Nazi war criminal, claims sanctuary at
Larkwood Priory, the Church is thrown into a dilemma. Does it harbor him and
risk a scandal in the media or cast him out into a world that wants to punish
him for crimes he insists he did not commit? In the weeks leading up to
Schwermann's trial, Father Anselm must find out why the Church had granted
Schwermann sanctuary fifty years earlier—and apparently helped him escape from
France and assume a new identity in Britain. As Anselm conducts his
investigation, others quicken their own pursuit of the truth about Schwermann,
about the Holocaust, and about their own tangled personal histories. Most
significant among them is Agnes Aubret, a dying French expatriate who risked
everything—and lost—to save children from the concentration camps. In the brief
time that remains to her, she wants to bring Schwermann to justice, but must
reveal her own startling past to do so.
A tale of great moral complexity, stunning reversals, and a Shakespearean
tension between appearance and reality, The 6th Lamentation is both a fast-paced
thriller and a moving meditation on truth, history, and the human predicament.
Discussion Questions
- Many books, both fiction and nonfiction, have been written about the
Holocaust. What makes The 6th Lamentation distinctive? What does it add to our
knowledge about the Holocaust and its aftermath?
- In his introduction, William Brodrick writes that Anselm is not to be
taken as "someone who has the answer to why evil often seems to prevail over
what is good, but as a companion to anyone who asks the question." What makes
Anselm such a capable companion to anyone who ponders the balance of good and
evil in the world? What kind of person is he? What virtues does he demonstrate
throughout the novel? What are his weaknesses?
- Agnes is the great matriarch of the novel. In what ways does her life as a
mother and grandmother define her? How does her writing, and the revelations it
contains, change the lives of those around her?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Penguin.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
