The Gathering

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of child sexual abuse and death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What impact did Enright’s fragmented, memory-driven narrative structure have on your reading experience? How did jumping between Veronica’s present grief and her imagined versions of Ada’s past affect your understanding of the Hegarty family dynamics?

2. Many readers compare The Gathering to other Irish family sagas that explore generational trauma and dysfunction. Have you encountered similar works that examine how family secrets echo across generations, and what distinguishes Enright’s approach to this theme?

3. Veronica’s grief leads her to question the very nature of truth and memory. What did you find most compelling about her emotional transformation?

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

1. Veronica resents her mother for having 12 children, feeling that too many siblings meant too little individual attention. Based on your experience, how does family size shape the relationships between siblings and parents?

2. The novel explores how family secrets can burden the next generation, even when children don’t fully understand what they’ve witnessed. Veronica carries guilt for decades about not telling anyone about Liam’s abuse. Without revealing personal details, how do you think keeping community secrets affects an individual’s sense of self?

3. Memory plays a crucial role in how Veronica processes her grief, but she acknowledges that her memories might be unreliable or influenced by her current emotional state. Do you find yourself questioning your own memories when you’re going through difficult times? How do you distinguish between what actually happened and what you might be projecting onto the past?

4. Veronica feels she’s been living her life “in inverted commas” (a UK term for quotation marks) until Liam’s death forces her to confront reality (181). Have you ever experienced moments that made you question whether you were living authentically?

5. Place and geography seem central to the characters’ identities in The Gathering. Liam flees to England to escape his past, while Veronica must also leave Ireland briefly to gain perspective on her grief and marriage. How important is physical location to your own sense of self and ability to process difficult emotions?

6. Adult sibling relationships vary dramatically in their depth and authenticity, as we see with the Hegarty family’s surface-level connections. Have you read other family narratives—perhaps in works like East of Eden or The Brothers Karamazov—that explore how shared trauma can both unite and divide siblings? What do you think creates lasting bonds versus relationships that remain politely distant?

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

1. Enright situates the novel within specific Irish cultural contexts, including the history of institutions like the Magdalene Laundries and the Catholic Church’s scandals. How does this historical backdrop enhance your understanding of the family’s dysfunction and secrets?

2. Institutions and social systems fail repeatedly in Enright’s Ireland, from psychiatric hospitals to family structures that enable abuse. What parallels do you see between these historical failures and contemporary discussions about protecting vulnerable people?

3. Immigration to England serves as both literal escape and metaphorical freedom for several characters. How does Enright use the geographic relationship between Ireland and England to explore themes of family, identity, and the possibility of reinvention?

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

1. Corporeality becomes a dominant symbol throughout the novel, with Veronica’s heightened awareness of bodies representing mortality, trauma, and her connection to life. How does Enright use physical descriptions and bodily sensations to convey Veronica’s emotional journey?

2. Veronica admits to fictionalizing parts of Ada’s story, particularly her grandmother’s romance and marriage choices. Why do you think Enright allows her narrator to blur the line between memory and imagination? What does this technique reveal about how we construct family narratives?

3. The title The Gathering operates on multiple levels—the funeral gathering, the gathering of memories, and the gathering of family secrets. How do these multiple meanings overlap and inform one another?

4. Nugent functions as both a specific antagonist and a symbol of larger institutional and social failures. How does his character represent the ways powerful figures can exploit family dynamics and social silence?

5. Enright structures the novel around Veronica’s movement between past and present, memory and speculation. How does this nonlinear approach mirror the actual experience of grief and family trauma?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Veronica discovers that Liam had a three-year-old son, Rowan, who looks remarkably like him. Imagine you’re designing a new chapter from Rowan’s perspective 20 years in the future—what questions might he have about his father’s story and the Hegarty family history?

2. At the novel’s conclusion, Veronica decides to tell Ernest about Liam’s molestation so he can inform their other siblings. Create an alternative resolution where Veronica chooses a different approach to handling this family secret—perhaps telling her daughters directly or confronting her mother about Ada’s household. How might this change affect the family’s future?

3. If you could insert yourself as a new character in the novel—perhaps as Veronica’s close friend or as another Hegarty sibling—what role would you want to play in helping the family process their trauma? What perspective or skills might you bring to their gathering?