Discussion Questions for Ondaatje's In the Skin of a Lion

For possibly the first time, we could not find discussion questions for a book club selection! I never thought Google would fail me but it happened.

So we decided to make our own questions! It was easy: through discussion of the book, we naturally had questions of our own. That and we've used enough of these sorts of prompts over the years that this felt like familiar territory.

I think the parts that we discussed the most and that intrigued us most were the historical elements Ondaatje encorporated into the narrative. It was fascinating to read about structures in Toronto, such as the Bloor Viaduct and the waterworks, and how they were built. We were all familiar with Ondaatje's literary style and found this book a more satisfying read than Divisadero, a past werking title pick.

And now what you've been waiting for: Discussion Questions! Scholars we are not but these are some topics we wondered and discussed ourselves.



1. Why does Patrick's father become a dynamiter? How does this influence Patrick's life?

2. Patrick watches Finnish loggers skating at night, observing them at play. How does this prelude his later interactions with other immigrant communities?

3. Why does Ondaatje include historical people, places and things in the novel? Ambrose Small and Rowland Harris are historical figures - does this influence the way the novel should be read or does it just ground the story in Toronto history?

4. What is the symbolic significance of Patrick becoming a "searcher"? How is he a searcher throughout his life? What is he searching for?

5. What is the nature of Clara & Alice's relationship?

6. Alice describes several distinct periods in her life. How does her art and career as an actress imitate her life or does her life imitate her art?

7. Patrick is a Canadian-born living and working amid several immigrant communities in Toronto. Describe how the novel illustrates the nature of community and belonging for Patrick and the new immigrants.

8. Throughout the novel there are detailed descriptions of miserable working conditions among the poor and working class and, by contrast, the extravagant lifestyle of the rich, including Harris' decision to use herringbone tiles at the waterworks. What political or social commentary does the novel make?

9. Patrick sets out to destroy public property after Alice dies. Were his actions triggered by grief or is he trying to make a grander social statement? Who does Patrick blame for his grief and how does he choose his targets for the vandalism?

10. Who owned the bag of dynamite Alice was carrying when she died?

11. Was Patrick's confrontation with Harris a dream/fantasy?

12. What does the novel say about obsessive love? How is Clara's relationship with Ambrose toxic? Why does the novel end with Patrick goes to Clara?

13. What is the significance of the title and prefacing quotation from The Epic of Gilgamesh?

Discussion Questions for Acsension

Because I had trouble finding some discussion questions online and had to make some up, I figured I'd post them on here for anyone else looking! These were prompted from a couple reviews I read about the book. Here goes...

1. The strength of this novel is the author's ability to sustain tension. In a number of scenes on the high wire, the author has a remarkable ability to involve the reader in the action, although some of the descriptions of circus tricks are difficult to picture. Do you agree?

2. Galloway offers an excellent description of the horrendous 1945 big-top fire in Boise, Idaho, in which 112 people died, bringing the age of large tent circuses to an end. Did the facts seem to over shadow the story? Did the insertion of this factual event seem natural to the story?

3. The book is also riddled with gypsy tales that have the feel of genuine folk stories straight from the forests of Eastern Europe. Even though we meet the many people who have inhabited Salvo's world, including the extended Fisher-Fielding family, which is in constant struggle over control of the circus, it is his loneliness on the high wire that we feel most keenly. Do you agree? Do you feel the Rom tales help or hinder the flow of the story?

4. How their story is told is more notable than the story itself… do you agree? There should be some dramatic tension, but this is denied. Was this on purpose? It might be argued that by using familiar expressions and simple sentences Galloway is placing Ascension on the level of folklore, fitting his literary effort in with the novel's interspersed Romany tales. I wonder if Galloway’s other novels are similarly drab?

5. Many promising symbols and thematic threads—bears, fire, adoption and belonging—are introduced then left unexplored. Some make sense if you puzzle them out, but are emotionally unsatisfying. What do these symbols mean? When his characters die, we don't grieve. When they mourn, we don't mourn with them. What do you think Galloway could’ve done differently, to portray his character's emotions more engagingly?

And here's a link to a great interview I found with Galloway, from 2004:
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/arts/bwriting/stories/s1182874.htm
(you'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the Galloway part)