The author switches between two distinct periods of time when telling this story. How did this affect your reading and appreciation of the book? Could this story have taken place in another European city or is it unique to the Netherlands?
Were you drawn into the mystery aspect of this novel? Did you figure it out before reaching the end of the book? If so, at what point did you begin to piece together what really happened? If not, which of the many false clues spread throughout the novel tripped you up?
The author slipped a number of hidden clues into the story. How successful was she at burying them? Did you pick them out during your first reading, or only after you’d finished it?
Can you understand why Lex Wederstein did what he did in Chapter Nine? Would you have taken the same steps he did, or have joined his family?
In Chapter Eleven, Huub Konijn is haunted by memories of his sister and her stories of their family’s past. Imagine your family suffered the same fate. Can you understand why his sister gave up all hope after they returned to Amsterdam? Or do you think she should have been thankful to be alive and done her best to build up a new life for herself and her brother? Was Huub right to be angry with her?
In Chapter Twenty-Three, Arjan van Heemsvliet blames himself for doing something that inadvertently hurts those he cares about. Try to place yourself in Arjan’s position. Do you believe he was right to feel this way? Or was he being too hard on himself? Would you have taken the same risks he did in order to help others?
Try to imagine it’s May 1941, a year after the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, and you have to leave Amsterdam in a hurry. What do you do with your most precious possessions? Do you leave them behind for the Nazis to confiscate, pack the most important in your suitcases and give the rest away, sell them all, or try to find someone to store them for you? Why?
The restitution of stolen art is a complex and somewhat subjective process. Huub Konijn and Bernice Dijkstra are often at odds over how the rules and procedures should be applied and followed. Who would you side with, Huub or Bernice? Why?
Does the author describe the intricacies of the claims and restitution processes well enough for you to understand them? Disregarding the plot twists in the second half of the novel, do you believe either Rita Brouwer or Karen O’Neil presented enough evidence to be considered the rightful owner of Irises?
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