Whistlejacket is densely written, with complex themes and a narrative that moves back-and-forth through time.

This could put off some readers, but the novel is so beautifully written that most readers will be stirred by it. Discussion leaders should be prepared for members declaring that they very much liked the book and yet have almost no idea of what it was about.

Perhaps a good way to begin discussing the novel would be to sort out its different narrative strands, identifying those that have to do with the murder mystery, those to do with Whistlejacket, those to do with Stubbs, and those to do the emptiness of the upper-class lives of some of the characters. After that, one probably should examine the narrator and explain how his naivete shapes the plot and our impressions of events. Then there are the themes, probably the most intimidating aspect...