READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Do you understand why Dore and Friedrich made the decision to leave their lives behind and go to the Galápagos Islands? Would you have taken—or would you now take—such a risk?

2. Do you believe Dore and Friedrich truly loved each other?

3. Were Dore and Friedrich prepared for the challenges they would face on Floreana? If you were in their shoes, what might you have done differently?

4. Heinz’s first wife, the mother of teenage Harry, had reservations about the sick boy joining Heinz and Margret in the Galápagos. Was Heinz right to bring him, or would Harry have been better off inGermany with his mother? If Harry were your child, what would you have done?

5. What do you think of Margret’s decision to give birth on the Galápagos? Would you have takensuch a risk?

6. Given their professed determination to live outside of society and its comforts, were the Floreanasettlers hypocritical in accepting gifts from visiting tourists? Or was this behavior understandable and justified in the name of survival?

7. What was your first impression of the Baroness? Did your view of her change as you got deeper into the story? Did you ever feel sympathy for her?

8. Who are the heroes in this story? Who are the villains? Or are there no heroes or villains?

9. What do you think really happened to the Baroness and Robert Philippson? Who was lying, and who was telling the truth?

10. If Rudolph Lorenz murdered the Baroness and Robert, was he justified in doing so? If you wereRudolph, how would you have handled the situation? In your opinion, did Rudolph have an accomplice?

11. Do you believe it is possible for humans to achieve utopia?

12. Do you think Dore deliberately let Friedrich die? What would you have done in Dore’s situation?