Instructions for a Heatwave Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Heatwave of 1976 and our BookBrowse Review of Instructions for a Heatwave.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The weather referenced in the novel's title refers to the setting but also takes on symbolic or metaphorical significance. O'Farrell writes that "strange weather brings out strange behavior . . . [People] start behaving . . . not so much out of character but deep within it" (p. 103). What does she mean by this? Where do we see examples of this among the characters? How does the heat enhance or mirror the psychological drama of the story?
   


2. Consider the various examples of siblings in the story. What are their relationships like? Are there many similarities among their relationships? Are the siblings very alike as characters? What problems or tensions are evident among them, and what causes this?
   


3. In the opening scenes of the book, O'Farrell creates a sense of the routine and the mundane through a description of Gretta's and Robert's daily habits. It creates a sense of domesticity, but how does this sense of the routine also heighten the feeling of alarm over Robert's disappearance and affect our reaction to the revelations at the story's end?
   

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.