CHAPTER ONE

WHEN I RECEIVED word that Anna Damiani Barrett was officially lost--lost, that is, for the first time--I was home for dinner with my parents. It was toward the end of the meal, my father already pushed back slightly from the table so that his large, tired body could unfurl in a slouch, my mother stacking plates and prodding the remains of the roast with the serving fork.

I drained the last of my beer and watched my father reach for his yellow legal pad. He ran his hand through his thick gray hair and considered the pad, on which he recorded, in the order of their occurring to him, matters that he needed to discuss with us. This was the phase of dinner in which plans were made, consensus reached. Anna had often remarked on the military atmosphere of the proceedings.

"He might as well have unfolded a map of Normandy on the table," Anna said to me once. "Your father is still the perfect soldier."

In many ways, she was right. My father maintained a humorless...

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Critique Matt's relationship with Anna. Though Matt comes across as the stronger and more independent of the two for much of the story, his need for Anna is evident. Which of the two seems to rely on their relationship more?


2. When Anna leaves Matt's apartment after staying there for the night, Matt realizes that he is more than just lonely. "Sitting in my messy apartment, awash in the television's purple light, I knew for sure that something was missing--certainly Anna, but also something larger that her presence and renewed absence had simply alerted me to." Matt continues to allude to something being missing throughout the novel. What is missing from Matt's life?


3. From the start of Anna's involvement with ...