Great Big Beautiful Life

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What was your initial reaction to the book’s genre-bending combination of a modern love story and a historical mystery? Did one thread resonate more than the other? If so, why?

2. What was your impression of Hayden and Alice’s quickly developing love story, which some call “the insta-love trope?”

3. Compare this book to another of Henry’s novels featuring writers, like People We Meet on Vacation, through the lens of storyline and character arcs. How are they similar, and how do they differ?

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

1. Consider how Margaret becomes a mentor to Alice. Has a stranger ever unexpectedly reshaped your perspective of yourself or the world?

2. Just as Margaret’s art helps her find beauty in brokenness, has something fractured or difficult ever become meaningful to you retrospectively?

3. Did the book make you reconsider how you listen to others’ stories or how to tell your own? If so, in what way?

4. Have you ever experienced tension in a relationship due to career competition, as Alice and Hayden do? If so, how did you navigate the issue?

5. Did you relate to Alice’s struggles in her relationship with her mom? How has grief changed your connection to surviving family members?

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

1. How effectively does the novel explore the generational differences in how women are allowed or expected to tell their stories?

2. Discuss the novel’s exploration of the ethics of storytelling in journalism. Can you draw parallels to current conversations about voice and representation?

3. Margaret wrestles with her family’s legacy as both creators and targets of media. How does the author’s depiction of that legacy reflect the realities of celebrity and media?

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

1. Analyze how the book’s narrative structure, shifting between the present and flashbacks to Margaret’s past, affects the story’s pacing and emotional resonance. How do the two narratives help inform and illuminate one another?

2. How does the author’s decision to use Alice as the primary point-of-view character affect the novel’s tone?

3. In what ways is storytelling a literal and symbolic element in the novel?

4. Analyze the novel’s exploration of The Importance of Balancing Ambition and Personal Growth. How does Hayden and Alice’s profession inextricably link to their identities?

5. Discuss water as a recurring motif in the novel. What does water symbolize for Margaret and Alice?

6. How do the small-town coastal setting of Little Crescent Island and its residents contribute to the novel’s plot and atmosphere?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Margaret chose a mosaic based on the unicursal pattern to symbolize her life. If you could choose a symbol or image to represent your life, what would it be and why?

2. Create a list or map of all the places Alice and Hayden visit on Little Crescent Island and the surrounding areas. What is the significance of each location to the development of their romance?

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