Claire of the Sea Light Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Haiti's History of Lawlessness and our BookBrowse Review of Claire of the Sea Light.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The opening chapter of Claire of the Sea Light moves backward chronologically through each of Claire's birthdays, ultimately returning to the present day of the narrative. How does this structure contribute to the book's sense of time overall, and to its weaving of past and present as more characters are introduced?
2. What does it mean that Albert Vincent is both the town of Ville Rose's undertaker and its mayor? How are these dual roles reflected in his relationship with Claire Narcis, Nozias's wife and Claire's mother, when she works for him preparing bodies for burial?
3. That Claire visits her mother's grave on her birthdays brings poignantly to the fore the notion that life and death are intertwined. In what other ways does that happen in the book? Do ghosts—or chimè—have a positive or negative influence over the living?

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.