Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel is written as one long, breathless sentence. Did you find this structure effective in conveying the chaos of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or did it become a distraction for you as a reader?

2. How does this novel’s blend of historical fiction and supernatural horror compare to other stories that mix these genres, such as Victor LaValle’s Lone Women or Marlon James’s A Brief History of Seven Killings?

3. What was your initial reaction to the novel’s looping ending, which circles back to its opening line? Did it leave you feeling hopeful, bleak, or something else entirely?

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

1. Cyril Bagger carries his father’s Bible for the sensory comfort of its smell and feel. Are there any objects or rituals in your own life that you turn to for comfort, regardless of their intended purpose?

2. The soldiers each project their deepest needs onto the angel, seeing a mother, a lover, or a daughter. Think about a time you might have seen what you needed to see in a person or situation, rather than what was truly there. How did that shape your relationship with that person or situation?

3. The novel’s extreme setting tests the characters’ moral boundaries. Bagger’s transformation from a self-serving con man to a self-sacrificing protector is central to the story. Have you ever been in a situation, even a small one, that challenged your principles in an unexpected way?

4. Major General Reis is consumed by his ambition to earn a Medal of Honor, which ultimately becomes a destructive force. Have you ever experienced a situation in which ambition is harmful rather than helpful?

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

1. The guide explains that the unprecedented death toll of WWI fueled a rise in supernatural beliefs like the Angel of Mons. How did learning about this historical context affect your reading of the soldiers’ readiness to believe they had found a fallen angel?

2. Ben Veck’s tragic story is rooted in the historical reality of racism within the segregated American Expeditionary Forces. What does his arc reveal about the complex experience of fighting for a country that simultaneously denies you basic dignity and equality?

3. The angel’s vision presents the Great War as the “War to Begin All Wars,” fueling a cyclical engine of death. How does this perspective on war as a self-perpetuating machine resonate with conflicts in the world today?

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

1. How does Kraus use the novel’s single-sentence structure to formally enact the psychological experience of relentless, inescapable trauma?

2. The angel functions as a symbolic mirror, reflecting each soldier’s deepest desires. Does this make her an active agent of the divine, or simply a passive canvas for human desperation?

3. How does the children’s game of Rochambeau underscore the absurd and arbitrary nature of survival in the trenches?

4. Bagger’s transformation is a journey from cynical self-interest to selfless love. What key moments with Arno or the angel do you believe were the most crucial catalysts for this change?

5. The novel critiques idealized masculinity through characters like Major General Reis and Hugh Popkin. In what ways do their obsessions with honor and romantic heroism lead directly to their corruption and destruction?

6. The Argonne Forest is portrayed as more than just a battlefield. How does the novel’s use of this hellish landscape as a gateway between worlds compare to the way settings function in other classic war novels, such as Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The angel appears to each man as the figure he most needs to see. If you were one of the soldiers who discovered her in No Man’s Land, what or who do you imagine you would have seen?

2. Bagger agrees to a high-stakes wager with the angel to save Arno’s life. If you were offered a similar bargain by a supernatural entity to save someone you love, what vow would you be willing to make, and what consequences would you risk?

3. What do you make of the novel’s final image, where a magnificent tree grows from the bullet the angel buries? What story might Bagger’s descendants tell about this tree?