READERS GUIDE

Seated in a copper bathtub, Bear Bavinsky dunks his head under steaming water and shakes out his beard, flinging droplets across the art studio. . . . He exhales and stands. Beads of water rain off his torso. His five-year-old son, Pinch, hoists a thick bath towel, arms trembling under the weight. Bear runs his fingers through receding reddish-blond hair and—hand on the boy’s head for balance—steps onto newspapers previously used for wiping paintbrushes. (page 3)

The Italian Teacher opens in Rome, 1955. Young Pinch lives with his mother, Natalie, a ceramicist, and father, the intense and riotous Bear Bavinsky, a celebrated painter. Both Natalie and Pinch blossom under the blaze that is Bear’s attention. Desperate to be a painter like his father, Pinch spends his every free moment studying the greats and emulates the man he sees as the greatest of them all. Bear’s favorite of his many children, Pinch itches to secure the artistic endorsement of his elusive father, who never stays in one place, or with one family, for long. But with only a few words, Bear dismisses his talent, and Pinch abandons painting for decades.

He turns to art history when he goes away to college, finding fellowship with the boisterous artist Marsden and love with an ambitious girlfriend, Cilla Barrows. Loyalty to Bear supersedes other connections, and as one effort after another falls through, Pinch settles into life as an Italian teacher in London. When Bear falls ill, though, Pinch sees a way to break free—and hatches an audacious plan to secure his father’s reputation while perhaps, at long last, proving to himself and the world that the spark of talent still burns in him.

As in his first two novels, Rachman demonstrates a genius for creating compelling characters who pursue their dreams even as they seem just a step out of reach. In his hands, Pinch—anxious to be successful and yearning to be loved—offers us a fresh perspective on the age-old debate about what can be forgiven in the name of genius.

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Pinch, Natalie, and Bear all produce art—but for very different reasons. Which is the true artist?

2. Pinch spends years trying to emulate his father, and then, when that fails, trying to escape his father’s shadow. Do you think he ever succeeds?

3. Bear and Natalie are vastly different people. In what ways is Pinch like his father? How does he resemble his mother?

4. Bear is a larger-than-life character, and Pinch often fades into the background. In college, he befriends Marsden, another larger-than-life personality who has “styled himself a bohemian” (page 90). Why do you think Pinch wants to be friends with Marsden?

5. Throughout his life, Bear begins and ends several marriages, and has many children, but refuses to share his legacy with them. What do you think Bear owed his children? Do you think parents are obligated to pass down their earnings to their children?

6. When Pinch gives up painting, and then art history, he decides to teach Italian. Why do you think this was appealing to him?

7. After Pinch and Barrows break up, Pinch distances himself from romantic relationships. Even his marriage to Julie is short-lived and tepid. His relationship with Jing is perfunctory and polite. Do you think Bear’s incident with Barrows made it difficult for Pinch to get close to women?

8. Pinch often does not finish what he starts, and he struggles with self-worth throughout the novel. In what ways did his father hold him back? Or did Pinch get in his own way? Is a parent responsible for the mistakes of a child?

9. Despite his contentious relationship with his father, Pinch finds himself taking care of his father as he ages. How does this change their relationship? Have you had to care for an aging parent?

10. The Italian Teacher gives a reader a glimpse into the art world. Did anything surprise you about this business?

11. Bear often sucks the energy out of the room and disrupts lives in painful ways. He’s called a genius in artistic circles. To what extent does his talent excuse his behavior? Do you think Bear Bavinsky would be able to behave this way in the present time?

12. Pinch lives in many countries throughout the novel. He’s technically Canadian, but was born in Italy. He doesn’t have one place he considers home. How do you think this affected him? Why do you think Rachman chose this?

13. Well into adulthood, the nickname “Pinch” sticks. As the book progresses, people begin calling him Charles, but the nickname follows him throughout his life. How do you think this affected him, if at all?