QUESTIONS

1. Why does the author choose to depict Renaissance Venetian society through its disreputable elements?
   

2. Notice the images of beauty contrasted with images of decay and putrefaction.
   

3. Why is Bucino fascinated by the Jewish pawnbroker?
   

4. What is the narrator's view of religion? What passages reveal this attitude?
   

5. A lot of lying goes on in the course of this book. There are the personal lies, told by one character to another, and there are the lies of society. Who lies to whom? What is the effect of these lies?
   

6. Fiammetta and La Draga's relationship becomes more than a mere business arrangement. Why is La Draga loyal to Fiametta? Is it just about the money?
   

7. One of the themes of the novel is the power and pervasiveness of lust. Where does this theme appear in the book?
   

8. The characters use a lot of coarse language, and there are graphic descriptions of sex acts in the novel. Why does the author include these graphic elements?
   

9. Several characters have deformities. Who is deformed, and in what way(s)?
   

10. One book reviewer wrote "Fiammetta is the mistiest of characters." Do you agree, or do you think the author gives a clear portrait of her personality and character? What passages reveal Fiammetta's feelings?
    

11. Fiammetta's profession is all artifice and lying. Is she ever honest with anyone? With herself?
    

12. Bucino, who is fierce and cynical at the beginning of the book, mellows in the course the story. Why does Bucino change? Is this character change believable?
    

13. Is the ending consistent with the rest of the book?
    

14. War, famine, murder, genocide—when you watch the news or read the newspaper, do you ever think the world is becoming increasingly violent? Did you change your mind after reading this book?