This Strange Eventful History

How does the novel engage with gender and the changing nature of gender roles during the 20th century? What beliefs, values, and ideas shape the novel’s characters, and how do these influence their relationships and career paths?

How does the novel depict marriage? What kinds of relationships do the various Cassars have, and what broader argument about the nature of romance, commitment, and long-term relationships might the author be making?

How do race and racism shape interactions between the Cassar family and the people they encounter? In what ways might they both perpetuate racist systems and themselves be subject to racist stereotypes? Explain, using textual evidence.

What is “home” for the Cassar family? How do members of each successive generation define home, and how do these definitions shift over time? Explore how the relationships among family members reflect this dynamic.

How does the novel depict mental health? Several characters struggle with mental health conditions. How do these struggles impact individuals, familial relationships, and openness to change?

How do war and geopolitics shape the trajectory of the Cassar family? What impact do historical events have on the paths that Gaston, Lucienne, and their children and grandchildren take? Choose two different characters, comparing and contrasting how geopolitics affects their lives.

Research the real pieds-noirs in the decades following the collapse of French colonialism. Where did they settle? What struggles did they face as they rebuilt their lives outside of North Africa? How realistic is this novel’s depiction of a pieds-noirs family?

The author based the novel on a 1,500-page manuscript her grandfather wrote. Examine why she chose to fictionalize this family history rather than write a work of nonfiction and what impact this fictionalization has on the story and the experience of reading it.