Sweet Tooth Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Military Intelligence Section 5 (MI5) and our BookBrowse Review of Sweet Tooth.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. What is the significance of the epigraph taken from Timothy Garton-Ash's The File: "If only I had met, on this search, a single clearly evil person"? How does it tie in with the major themes of Sweet Tooth and McEwan's method of characterization?
2. Why do you believe that the author chose to set a contemporary novel in the England of the 1970s during the lingering Cold War? What contemporary or otherwise timeless themes is McEwan able to treat by adopting this political-historical backdrop? In Chapter 18, Pierre speaks to MI5 of "the softest, sweetest part of the Cold War, the only truly interesting part, the war of ideas." Does McEwan's novel seem to support this sentiment? How does it treat the subject of a "war of ideas"?
3. McEwan chooses to employ a female protagonist. Is she convincing? What surprises you about her character? Consider your response and reaction to her character. Is she likeable? Are you sympathetic to her? How does the author elicit this response from readers? How is she viewed by the other characters in the novel and how does this affect your own interpretation?

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