AlexandriaLibraryVA discussion

Questions to ask yourself while reading The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey:

- There are two protagonists in The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating, the human and the snail. Did you find yourself drawn to one more than the other? Does that say something about you as a person?

- How does one maintain one's outlook when illness — or other type of challenge — results in numerous losses? Consider the ways in which major challenges reshape a life. What gets you through such challenges?

- The snail changed [the author's] understanding of the natural world as a whole. Did you feel the same way? Why?

- Discuss the real and metaphoric use of the "window" throughout the book. There is a window in the prologue at the hotel near the Alps, the window in the convalescent room, and the window at [the author's] beside when [she] moves back home. Consider the importance of patient environment in palliative care.

- How did [the author's] decision not to name any humans in the narrative impact you as a reader? Why do you think [she] made that decision?