62 pages • 2-hour read
All the Water in the World
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Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. The central premise of All the Water in the World is the danger of climate change. Do you think it’s an effective cautionary tale? Why or why not?
2. Hope for the future is a major theme in the novel. What moments helped keep hope alive in the narrative? Why?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. Consider the preservation of knowledge. What knowledge or experiences would you try to preserve for the future?
2. The people of Amen all have niche, specialized skills that have become invaluable within their new community and world. What unlikely skills do you have that might become valuable in a climate collapse world?
3. The Cloisters community gathers the stories of travelers and preserves them in the scriptorium. Have you ever heard a stranger’s story that you preserved in your memory? Does this project reflect any projects you know of in today’s world?
4. Early in the novel, the survivors must accept that they can never return to Amen. Consider a time in your life when you had to leave a place of safety and comfort, whether emotionally, professionally, or socially. What did it feel like as you realized that you couldn’t go back?
Societal and Cultural context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. All The Water In The World frames many parts of modern production and infrastructure as greed. Nonie says that greed and hope are the same thing, one motivated by fear, the other by hope. What do you see in today’s world that could be motivated by greed, and what could be motivated by hope?
2. The start of the novel is set in New York City at the site of a large natural history museum. Why do you think the author selected such a prominent and iconic location?
Literary analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. All The Water In The World unfolds through Nonie’s first-person perspective. She has a unique way of looking at the world because of neurodivergence. How does this impact the story?
2. The novel alternates between the present-day plot and Nonie’s flashbacks to earlier periods, often in Amen. How effective is this structure? What did you like or dislike about it and why?
3. Each part of the novel opens with an epistolary extract from Nonie’s Water Logbook. How effectively do these extracts relate to the plot and characterization of each section?
4. The novel has many recurring symbols and motifs. Which did you find the most poignant and why?
Creative engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. In All The Water In The World, the community of Amen lives on the roof of The American Museum of National History. What landmarks or famous sites are near you? Can you envision building a settlement on (or in) one of them? Why would you choose a particular location, and what would you prioritize in this community?
2. The novel is in many ways a road novel, even if the “road” is on water. How do you think this aspect would contribute to its development as a movie or a series?
3. At the end of the novel, Nonie is readying herself to join the crew of the research vessel Sally Ride. There she’ll start a new logbook. Imagine what entries she may put into it and how she would title them.
4. In All The Water in The World, Keller invents a game called Animal in Mind. In this game, one player thinks of an animal, giving hints based on its environment and behavior, and the other players must guess what it is. Play a round of Animal in Mind with each other.
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