What are their relationships like with their children? What makes them good moms?ġ0. Lucy and Clemency experienced unspeakable abuse as children, but, miraculously, they managed to break the cycle and become good mothers to their children. Do you think Henry’s lies and violent acts were born out of his need to survive an unimaginable situation, or do you think there is, as Clemency states, 'a streak of pure evil' (page 280) in him?ĩ. What types of power are wielded in this novel? Who has power, who loses it, and who wants it? Is there a character without any agency?Ĩ. What details do we glean about their relationship from Henry and Lucy’s memories and Clemency’s account toward the end of the novel?ħ. The relationship between Henry and Phin is pivotal to the plot, but we aren’t told as much about the friendship between Lucy and Clemency. Which of adult Henry, Lucy, and Clemency’s behaviors can you directly trace back to their harrowing experiences as children? How do you see the influence of their abuse in their grown up lives?Ħ. What is the effect of characters calling Libby 'the baby' throughout the novel? How does this inform your opinion of Libby and her role in the story?ĥ. Is there a character whose point of view you’d have liked to had included? What do you think Martina, for example, thought about David and Birdie’s choices?Ĥ.

There are many intriguing characters who do not directly narrate the novel. Yet, Henry and David share many similar tendencies and qualities. Was there one character in particular whose point of view you especially enjoyed? What is the effect of having Henry’s sections told in first person narration and Lucy and Libby’s told in third person narration? Why do you think Lisa Jewell structured her novel this way?Ģ. The Family Upstairs is told from three perspectives: Henry, Lucy, and Libby’s.

The family upstairs novel