1. What interesting and complex narrative effects result from Maud’s difficulty with her memory? How does the narrative shift between past and present affect the telling of the story?
2. What is the difference between something or someone being missing, lost, or gone? How does Maud struggle with these differences?
3. What do you think prompts Maud’s repeated impulse to buy and consume food? Why the focus on tins of peaches? Why is this impulse a concern for her daughter and carers?
4. To compensate for her gaps in memory, Maud relies on her “paper memory” and leaves herself notes as reminders. In what ways do the paper notes mimic her own scattered memory? What problems arise from this system?
5. After her sister Sukey goes missing, young Maud impulsively collects random, found objects because she “couldn’t bear to walk past something that might be Sukey’s and not pick it up.” What meaning does Maud invest in these physical objects? What role do some key objects play in unraveling the mystery of Sukey’s disappearance?
6. In the present, as Maud’s memory fails her more frequently and her grasp on language deteriorates, increasingly she finds comfort in physical objects: a silk glasses case from Elizabeth, Sukey’s compact case, and Patrick’s clothes to name a few. How do these objects help her piece together both the present and the past?
7. Maud starts making mistakes while performing simple household tasks. When this happens in front of others she feels as though she’s “failed an important test” and thinks “a little piece of me is gone.” What do you think she means by this? Why is this change significant to her?
8. Maud often compares the confusion caused by her failing memory with the post-war experiences in her childhood: being disoriented in her own neighbourhood, worrying about missing and disappeared friends, and the sense of being without food all echo back to this period. How do these two different scenarios of upheaval create such a similar effect on her life? How do they differ?
9. The phrase “Elizabeth is missing” is constantly echoed by Maud throughout the novel as she struggles to discover (and remember) what’s happened to her friend. Why do you think Maud finds familiarity and relief in this phrase?
10. As a girl, Maud is discouraged from mentioning Sukey’s name at home and finds solace in discussing her sister with Frank who “wanted to remember her properly, with words.” Given Maud’s later difficulty with words, how does she find ways to search for and remember her sister?
11. Maud is often misunderstood, disregarded, and treated with impatience by the people in her town because of her difficulty with memory. Consider how this is similar to the town’s treatment of the mad woman, Violet, of Maud’s childhood. How does this behavior affect both women? And what does it mean that this behavior persists in both time periods?
12. Maud frequently repeats words to herself to help her remember things, but admits that “the words begin to lose meaning and are like a chant.” How does this difficulty render the mundane and familiar strange? How does this type of everyday mystery add to the story?
13. Against Sukey’s wishes, Frank keeps a glass dome filled with stuffed birds on the mantelpiece in their home. What is the significance of this display, and why do you think it inspires Sukey’s premonitory terror about being attacked? Why does Frank insist on keeping it?
14. There are several allusions and references to fairy tales throughout the novel and Maud seems to unconsciously takes cues from these stories when she is feeling confused: for example, she imagines herself as Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother, waiting for visitors in her home. What other stories are referenced? How do you think they help Maud?
15. Maud often finds herself digging in gardens, searching with a sense of purpose, but unable to remember why and what for. Why does she revert to this type of physical search?
16. Helen takes on much of the responsibility of caring for her mother and has a difficult, often frustrating relationship with Maud. How does Maud’s relationship with her granddaughter Katy differ? How does this dynamic influence our understanding of Helen and Maud’s relationship?
17. Frank and Douglas are two key figures in the disappearance of Sukey and, as a child, Maud deeply mistrusts them both. However, we discover that both are kind towards others in their own way. How does the resolution to Sukey’s disappearance affect your impressions of these characters?
18. What, if anything, has changed for Maud in the story’s poignant ending?