4. Why is Anna so fascinated with obituaries? Do you think she was telling the truth when she tells the narrator that her obituaries have come true? Do the obituaries serve another purpose besides describing each person’s life and death?
5. Who caused Anna’s bruises? Why does she lie to the narrator about them?
6. What was Anna’s relationship to Bryce Druitt? Why do you think she ran his car into the bridge? Why did Bryce also have a box full of things that Anna had sent him? Why did he know about the obituary that the narrator had received in the mail after Anna’s disappearnce?
7. Where did the condom wrapper that Anna’s father found come from? Do you think she planted it, and if so, why? Did she have another lover? What evidence supports or refutes this possiblity?
8. Why do you think the narrator’s sister Joan abandoned the family, avoiding contact with anyone? Why would she not at least contact her brothers?
9. Why was Anna so adamant that the narrator write a ghost story? Was that the real reason Anna wanted to visit Mumler? Was it coincidence that she walks across the ice?
10. What did Anna know about Mr. Devon and why does she dislike him? The narrator finds a letter from Anna when he’s helping Mr. Devon clear out his office for the summer. What does the letter reveal about Anna’s possible connection to Mr. Devon? Do you think his explanation about the letter is the truth? Do you think he’s told the truth about the fire that killed his girlfriend?
11. Why do the narrator’s parents relate so poorly to each other and their children? Does it have something to do with the loss of their daughter, Denise? How do they each try to reach out to the narrator after Anna’s disappearance?
12. What do you think actually happened to Anna? Interpret the evidence she left behind—does it support the idea that she killed herself, was murdered, or the theory that she ran away? What scenario does what she wrote in the narrator’s obituary suggest?
13. Early in the book the narrator says, “I’m bland. I’m milk. Worse, I’m water.” How has his opinion of himself changed by the end of the book? What has he come to realize about himself, and what does he credit for the change?
As Simple as Snow Page 26