1.Why do you think María José Ferrada wanted to tell this story from M’s precocious, though limited, perspective? If you could read this book from another character’s point of view, how would the story be different?
2.Why do you think the characters are only referred to by their initials?
3.Early on, M says that “my parents designed a learning plan that would allow me to comprehend the things that a child—a girl, in this case—needed in order to make her way in the world. Thus, I began early with a classification of things.” How does M’s relentless categorization of objects and the people around her help her cope with the changing world and challenges she is faced with?
4.How does the photographer, E, change the dynamic of the father/daughter relationship?
5.Much of the book’s prose is rooted in metaphor, such as D’s motto that “every life has its own moon landing.” What does he mean by this, and how does it relate to his own life as a traveling salesman?
6.Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship looms in the background of the novel; how does it inform the everyday lives of the characters in the book?
7.Throughout the story, M’s mother is an “off-screen” character. Why do you think the author makes this choice?
8.M says she thinks of her excursions with her father as “an extension” of her schooling. What does she learn with him that she might not in school? Outside of school, where do you feel you learned the most valuable life lessons?
9.At one point in the book, salesmen share tall tales that get more outlandish with each retelling. In what ways do they, and M, mythologize their work, and how does it compare to reality?
10.Are there other narrators that M reminds you of? What are some of your favorite books narrated by younger voices?