LCA BOOK CLUB

THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS – QUESTIONS

19 AUGUST 2019

1. What can we say about the title chosen for this book?

2. Briseis is barely mentioned in Homer’s Iliad. Why do you think Barker chose to write this story
from her perspective? Do you think it’s important for well-known stories to be told from
different viewpoints?

3. If Pat Barker were to write another retelling, whose point of view would you be most
interested in reading? How, for instance, might Paris, Helen’s lover, tell his tale?

4. How did reading The Silence of the Girls impact your understanding of The Illiad? What did
this book add to the story of the Trojan War as a whole?

5. What do you think of the way the gods are incorporated into the story?

6. What does the book have to say about how women and their bodies are used during
wartime?

7. Achilles is usually seen as a hero, but from the beginning of the book this image is
challenged. What kind of person is he presented as and does he have any heroic qualities?

8. Briseis’ attitude toward Achilles changes throughout the course of the novel. Did you always
find yourself agreeing with her opinion of him? Why or why not?

9. What is most striking about the difference between how Achilles presents himself privately
and publicly? In what ways do the two personas merge toward the end of the novel?

10. There are many visceral and devastating depictions of war and its aftermath in The Silence
of the Girls. Which moment struck you as the most heartbreaking or poignant?

11. Honor, both familial and for your city, is a strong theme of The Illiad. How does this theme
apply to The Silence of the Girls?

12. What other themes are explored throughout the book?

13. What is the general message of the book?

14. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Briseis through many traumatic experiences,
including her fall from Queen to concubine. Were you ever surprised by her reactions to
these experiences? How would you have reacted to these experiences?

London Communications Agency, Page 1 of 1