Reader’s Den

March Reader's Den: Discussion Questions for "Love and Summer"

Welcome back to the Reader's Den. This week, I would like to post a few questions for you to consider while reading Love and Summer and developing relationships with its characters.

  • If you were to pass one of these characters on the street, would you recognize him/her?

"'It’s not a terrible place,' Ellie Said, as if she knew what he was thinking. 'It's only something happened there.'" (Love and Summer, p. 127)

  • There is often a sense of mystery and foreboding in Trevor’s writing. What characters or actions bring a sense of uneasiness and mystery to the novel?
  • Miss Connulty is eager to expose a scandal between Ellie and Florian. Do you think she is living vicariously through Ellie, transferring her own lost desires on the younger woman? Or is she trying to protect Ellie from the same heartbreak and loneliness that have plagued her life as the keeper of the lodging house?

"Arranging egg, bacon, and corner of fried bread on his fork…" (Love and Summer, p. 106)

  • How does food add to the authenticity of the novel?
  • Is there a color you would associate with this novel?
  • Are either Dillahan or Florian in love with Ellie?

Please leave your thoughts, comments, and questions at any time.