The Keeper of Lost Things

Explore the implications of regret and memory. Does Anthony waste his wife living in the past, or is his life a testimony to the abiding power of love?

From a feminist standpoint, Laura can be criticized as a woman who needs a man to complete her, and who allows men to define her sense of self-worth. Is that a valid criticism of Laura’s character? Compare her relationships with Vince and Freddy. Does she grow emotionally stronger?

What is the role of a writer? The novel can be read as a story about the birth of a writer. It is a novel that explains its own beginnings. Using all the writers in the novel, define the importance of stories, the therapeutic value of storytelling, and the role of the imagination. 

Discuss the function of the embedded stories about Anthony’s lost things. How do they illuminate the novel’s larger argument about the need for others and the power of hope? Does it matter who is the author? Why isn’t the author made clear? 

Research the controversial topic of assisted suicide and the question of the dignity of life and the importance of choice. Is Eunice’s decision to help Bomber die an act of love or an act of cowardice? Is it a crime?

Alone among the major characters, Portia seems a simple caricature. She appears to be one-dimensional and unsympathetic. Examine the evidence we are given about her relationship with her father and her brother. Look at the plotlines of her trashy novels. Do her surly nature and her stories suggest a complex strategy for handling pain and loneliness?

Research Down syndrome, or what Sunshine calls “dancing drome.” How does the novel use the medical reality of the condition symbolically? Is that use exploitative? 

The novel argues for the importance of films and their impact on people’s emotional lives. Five films in particular help shape the thematic argument of Hogan’s novel: The Great Escape, Blithe Spirit, The Birdcage, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and Philadelphia. Choose any one of the films and explore how it relates to the novel and its themes and characters.