READERS GUIDE

Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. Despite their life of extreme wealth, the Agarwals are, in many ways, a typical family. Are there ways in which you relate to them, and others in which you find them entirely unrelatable?

2. The Inheritance is narrated by Zoe, who married into the Agarwal family, and Myra, who was born into it. How does the interplay between their perspectives, one an insider and the other an outsider, drive the narrative?

3. Zoe, Owen, and Gabe are all outsiders, and yet the family’s treatment of each of them is drastically different. How do the family’s prejudices dictate this? Have you experienced any situations in your own life where you were led by your biases instead of objective facts?

4. All three siblings were deeply impacted by the trauma they experienced as children. In what different or similar ways did this shape them? How much of their actions in the present are defined by their childhood?

5. Aisha claims to be in love with Gabe. Do you believe her feelings for him are genuine or are they born out of her need to rebel?

6. Is the family’s treatment of Gabe justifiable? How would you have reacted in the same situation?

7. Throughout the novel, we see Zoe fight against Shalini’s hold over the family, and particularly over Aseem’s relationship with his mother. Do you think this ultimately makes Zoe more vulnerable? Is she right to stand up for herself or should she have accepted the place Aseem’s mother occupies in his life?

8. What do you feel are some of the key themes of the book? How well do you think the author explored them? What resonated most with you?

9. The novel is set on a remote Scottish island. How much of a role do you think this landscape plays in the novel? Would the story be as compelling if it were set elsewhere?

10. Whom did you suspect over the course of the novel? Why?

11. Were you expecting any of the reveals? Did the ending come as a surprise to you? Why or why not?