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The Gifts
It will take something extraordinary to show four women who they truly are...
October 1840. A young woman staggers alone through a forest in the English countryside as a huge pair of impossible wings rip themselves from her shoulders.
In London, rumors of a "fallen angel" cause a frenzy across the city, and a surgeon desperate for fame and fortune finds himself in the grips of a dangerous obsession, one that will place the women he seeks in the most terrible danger . . .
The Gifts is an astonishing novel, a spellbinding tale told through five different perspectives and set against the luminous backdrop of nineteenth century London, it explores science, nature and religion, enlightenment, the role of women in society and the dark danger of ambition.
Book club questions for The Gifts by Liz Hyder
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
The Gifts follows multiple characters. Who was your favorite? Who did you feel was the central character?
How does this novel explore gender? Do you think Edward would have reacted differently if he had found winged men, not women?
What role does religion play in the novel, and how do religion and science both clash and complement each other?
Both Etta and Annie sketch and draw. What role do you think art plays in the novel?
How does the historical and geographical setting affect the story? How do you think a phenomenon like this would be treated in a different time and place?
What do you think of Edward, and how did your opinion of him change throughout the novel?
What do you think the significance of the title is?
What do you think Edward and Annie’s life would have been like if Edward hadn’t discovered the “angels”? Does Edward’s obsession change him, or was he always going to be the person he becomes?
Natalya tells stories, Mary, Richard, and Jos all write, and myths circulate about the “angels.” What role does storytelling play in the book?
Etta, Annie, and Mary are all orphans, and Mary has recently lost one of her parent figures. Edward has a strained relationship with his father, as does Natalya with her mother. How does the novel explore the complicated relationships between children and their parents?
Why do you think Etta and Natalya grow wings?
The Gifts Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The Gifts discussion questions