This Is a Love Story

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

1. Discuss your responses to the narrative revelation that Abe and Alice were involved. How did you read their relationship? Do you think Abe betrayed Jane? Do you think Alice manipulated Abe?

2. How did you respond to Jane’s diagnosis of cervical cancer? How did this facet of Jane and Abe’s story disrupt your sense of their relationship history and future?

3. Did you relate to Alice or Max more closely? Discuss which facets of their characters were most and/or least believable. Have you been in similar relationship positions as they are with Abe and Jaclyn, respectively?

4. Explore the family dynamics between Abe, Jane, and Max. How did you read their family culture, and what does it imply about The Evolution of Love and Relationships? How does their family dynamic compare to your own?

5. Discuss the evolution of Abe and Jane’s relationship. Which facets of their changing dynamic were most surprising or engaging? Were there life challenges that you think they should have handled differently? How does your personal experience inform your interpretation of their marriage?

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

1. This Is a Love Story explores The Role of Art in Shaping Identity. Explore the women characters’ relationships to art. How does Soffer represent Jane’s attachment to visual creation and Alice’s relationship to writing, and what do their artistic practices suggest about women’s right to create? Do you agree or disagree with Soffer’s overarching platitudes?

2. The novel is set in New York City and spans several decades. Discuss how this geographical and temporal setting relates to Soffer’s explorations of love, community, and identity. How would the novel’s themes differ if This Is a Love Story were set in a different place and/or time?

3. Themes of motherhood recur throughout the novel. Explore Soffer’s various representations of motherhood and what each implies about a woman’s right to decide her purpose and fate. How do each of the characters relate to their mothers, and how do these maternal connections relate to the characters’ identities? Do you agree—as Soffer suggests—that everything in life goes back to the mother?

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

1. The novel is written from multiple points of view. Analyze the narrative, formal, and thematic effects of each point of view used. Consider how and why the first-, second-, and third-person narratives affect contrasting tones and moods.

2. Compare and contrast the character arcs of Abe, Jane, Alice, and Max. Are they dynamic or static characters? If they change, why? If they don’t, why not?

3. Soffer toys with grammatical and formal convention throughout the novel. Explore the thematic role of her stylistic choices. How would the novel’s overarching social and cultural commentaries differ if Soffer had abided by a more traditional plotline and narrative presentation?

4. Analyze the significance of the “Central Park” chapters. What do these chapters add to the novel? How do they create balance or cohesion? Alternatively, do they disrupt the narrative progression, and why?