In the Midst of Winter

Told in three alternating perspectives in close third person point of view, the similarities as well as the sharp distinctions between Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s stories begin to emerge as the narrative progresses. How does this narrative format allow for their stories of immigration to compare?

While Mr. Leroy is a human antagonist in the novel, what are some social and political systems that also act as antagonists (i.e. racism, sexism, xenophobia, militarism, etc.)? How do Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn contend with these larger forces in their everyday lives?

Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn each occupy different social positions and possess different forms of privilege. How does each character negotiate their social position and privilege to support each other along their journey?

While there is the physical drama of contending with a dead body in a car, the emotional catalyst for Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s journey is the stories they tell each other. What is the role of storytelling in this novel? How does it transform each character’s ability to act and respond?

What role does Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s respective families play in their political consciousness and understanding of love? How do these two forces become intertwined in their early development?

How do the magical realist elements of the novel become more prevalent as Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn’s journey progresses? What does this relay about the journey’s lessons for each of them?

At the novel’s conclusion, Lucia informs Richard that for everything they have endured, “The only cure for so much misfortune is love” (307). How has love been a persistent healing theme throughout the novel? Has it been an adequate “cure” for Lucia, Richard, and Evelyn?

With Richard, Lucia describes their intervention in Evelyn’s conflict as a form of “natural justice” (339). What does she mean by this? How does this form of justice contrast to what they have each witnessed in their experiences?