And He Shall Appear
Discussion Guide

  1. The narrator gives us a very detailed view of Bryn. He also tells us what people like Tim, Alexa, and Berenice seem to think of him. What do you think others in college—the students we don’t see—might make of Bryn? What about the college staff?
  2. What do you think Bryn makes of the narrator? Why does he turn to the narrator at important moments, like the weekend away and the performance at Trinity?
  3. How do you think the narrator’s background influences his experience and his perspective of those experiences? What about Tim and Mona and their own backgrounds?
  4. Bryn accuses the narrator of being obsessed by class. Do you think Bryn’s comment is fair? How do you think each of these young men understand class?
  5. How did you feel about the narrator being unnamed? Why do you think the writer made this decision? What name would you give the narrator?
  6. The narrator seems to have two significant female relationships at college: with Berenice and with Alexa. Why do these relationships begin and how do they change over time? Do you see those relationships differently from how the narrator sees them?
  7. Do you think the dynamic between the narrator and Bryn would be different if they were women?
  8. The narrator says that Peter Warlock saw alcohol as a route to mysticism. What role does alcohol play in this story?
  9. Bryn talks about the possibility of “a million different pasts.” How does this idea sit with the narrator’s view of the world? Might he believe this too, either consciously or unconsciously?
  10. References to fathers appear throughout the novel. What do you make of the narrator’s relationship with his father? What about the relationship between Bryn and Louis Cavendish? And how do these relationships affect how the narrator and Bryn relate to one another?
  11. What’s the significance of music in the book? Why do you think the narrator uses musical pieces, terms, and metaphors to express himself? Why does Peter Warlock loom so large in the story?
  12. At the Botanic Gardens, Bryn talks about Mona wanting to be noticed, seeming surprised that the narrator doesn’t understand, and the narrator assumes that Bryn is revealing his own desire to be noticed by his father. Now that you’ve read the whole book, do you think there are other ways to interpret this scene? Are there any other moments or conversations that you now see in a different light?
  13. The narrator talks a lot about identity—even as a child, he wonders which identity a ghost might assume, and whether they might appear differently at different times. How does his own identity shift throughout the story? Is he a changed person by the end?
  14. Toward the end, the narrator says that this is a story about love. Is that what you’d call it?
  15. Is there a hero in this story? Is there a villain? If so, who?
  16. Do you think Bryn has occult powers?