A Week in Winter

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Chicky creates an elaborate fictional life for her family rather than admit that her relationship with Walter failed. What motivates this decision? When have you found yourself maintaining a facade to protect others or yourself, and what were the consequences?

2. Stone House becomes a place of healing and transformation for many characters. What place in your life has served a similar purpose of renewal or clarity? What qualities made it special?

3. Rigger transforms from a youth involved in crime to a manager, husband, and father. What makes such transformation possible, in your opinion?

4. Winnie and Lillian’s relationship transforms dramatically during their frightening experience in the sea cave. How has a crisis or challenge changed your relationship with someone in an unexpected way?

5. Anders struggles with the weight of family expectations that conflict with his personal passions. How have you navigated similar tensions between duty and personal fulfillment?

6. Freda possesses psychic insights into others’ lives but struggles to apply that wisdom to her own relationships. When have you found it easier to understand others’ problems than your own, and how did you bridge that gap?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel presents various aspects of Irish life that attract tourists seeking authenticity and connection. How does Binchy balance portraying Irish culture with avoiding stereotypes or overly romanticized depictions?

2. A Week in Winter features characters from different generations with varying attitudes toward family obligations, career paths, and romantic relationships. How do these generational perspectives reflect broader societal changes in Ireland and beyond?

3. Many characters come to Stoneybridge seeking escape from the pressures of modern life. What does the novel suggest about contemporary society’s need for retreat and reconnection with place, community, and simpler ways of living?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. How does the narrative structure of interlocking stories contribute to the novel’s themes of connection and transformation? What insights do readers gain from seeing characters appear in multiple storylines? How does this work compare to others that use a similar structure, such as Sherman Alexie’s Tonto and the Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven?

2. Stone House serves as both a physical location and a powerful symbol throughout the novel. What does it represent for different characters, and how does its meaning evolve as the stories unfold?

3. The motif of renamed or reinvented identities appears repeatedly with Chicky/Geraldine, Rigger/Richard Anthony, and Corry/John. How does this pattern of renaming connect to the theme of personal transformation?

4. Miss Howe stands as the only character who leaves Stone House without experiencing positive change. What purpose does her character serve in the overall narrative, and what might her story suggest about the limits of transformation?

5. The natural world plays a significant role throughout the novel, particularly during pivotal moments like Winnie and Lillian’s cave experience and Henry and Nicola’s cliff rescue. How does Binchy use nature as both setting and metaphor?

6. Gloria the cat forms special connections with certain characters, particularly Rigger and Freda. What might Gloria symbolize in the novel, and why does she gravitate toward these specific individuals?