The Life Impossible

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

1. Discuss your responses to Grace Winters’s newfound clairvoyant and telekinetic powers. How did this narrative revelation change your impressions of the narrative world and Grace’s storyline?

2. The novel explores The Journey from Grief to Healing through Grace’s experiences. Do you think her encounters with loss and her attempts to heal are relatable? How do her experiences compare with your own?

3. Grace doesn’t know what to expect when she first arrives in Ibiza. How did her unexpected experiences on the island compare with your own travel experiences? Have you been in a similar situation, and, if so, how did it affect you?

4. Discuss the differences between Grace’s life in Lincolnshire and her life in Ibiza. Do you think she needed to leave Lincolnshire in order to change? Why or why not?

5. Grace’s encounters with the natural world contribute to her growth. What role has nature played in your own sense of self? Consider Grace’s regard for animals and plants throughout the novel.

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

1. The novel explores the possibilities of changing later in life. How does Haig create awareness around aging through Grace’s personal growth journey? How does he subvert the cultural precedence on youth by making Grace the protagonist? Consider how the novel’s thematic explorations would differ if Grace were a younger character. 

2. The Life Impossible is a work of magical realism. How do the novel’s fantastical elements infuse ordinary life with elements of mystery and beauty? How would Haig’s spiritual commentaries change if The Life Impossible were strictly a work of realism?

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

1. The novel is written from Grace’s first-person point of view and uses the direct address. Discuss the narrative and thematic significance of this formal choice. How is Grace’s decision to relay her story to Maurice Agustine relevant to her character’s evolution?

2. Grace’s account traces her quest for meaning, purpose, and happiness. What experiences, relationships, and conflicts help her find contentment? Discuss specific examples from the text.

3. The Life Impossible is primarily set in Ibiza. Explore how this island setting relates to the novel’s mood. How would the narrative atmosphere change if the novel were set elsewhere? How does the setting inspire the novel’s magical elements?

4. Images of the red bike recur throughout the novel. Discuss the symbolic relevance of this motif. How do these images provide insight into Grace’s state of mind?

5. Explore Christina’s, Marta’s, Maurice’s, and Christina van der Berg’s roles in Grace’s personal growth journey. How would her account differ without these relationships?