Though the narrator does not personally interact with every character, her life intersects with most of them. How do these interactions explore the novel’s wider interest in the dynamics of community, especially over time?

Marta is a key figure in the text. How is she characterized? How do some of her habits, observations, and/or beliefs speak to the novel’s key themes and ideas?

Consider the different forms of communication and storytelling in the text, such as the narrator’s internet searches for accounts of others’ dreams, Paschalis’s tale of Saint Kummernis, or Marta’s stories of people real or imagined. How do these different forms of storytelling mirror or contrast with one another? What does the novel suggest about the power and limitations of stories?

The German car is just one example of how Silesia’s past as a German territory persists. What other symbols or motifs reflect this idea? How does the novel explore the influence of the past on the present more generally?

Challenging the gender binary is a frequent characteristic of many of the characters in the novel. How do Kummernis, Paschalis, and Agni all challenge the gender binary? What does the novel suggest about the nature of gender roles and identity?

How does the structure of House of Day, House of Night, with so many chapters, impact the pacing of the novel? How does Tokarczuk use this structure to create one narrative, and what is the wider significance of this structure?

Analyze love and sexuality in the novel. What are some of the different forms of love, desire, and sex in the narrative? How are various characters’ experiences of these elements different or similar to one another?

The narrator’s home is built over an underground river, and water flows through it. What is the symbolism of this river? How does it reflect, or complicate, some of the text’s key ideas?