Questions for Further Discussion She stood on the edge of the grass. She hovered between worlds … She was despairingly close to home now, to the rooms and the voices that contained the first names for home. Memories abounded and her heart pounded and history broke in. The title 'Academy Street' reflects the place where Tess makes her home for much of her life. What does Academy Street represent for Tess? To what extent is this novel a quest for home – real or metaphoric? How does Tess' physical return to Ireland contrast with her childhood memories? How does it impact on the identity she's built for herself within New York City? In her life, ever, there were only a few people who had been a fit, with whom she had felt understood … The longing to be with them persisted, a longing so deep and eternal it must have had ancient origins. The story opens with a death. How does Tess' relationship to and loss of her mother foreshadow and shape her future relationships? The theme of family is a significant one throughout the novel. In which ways does Tess' understanding of family shift? What is the impact on Tess' life of falling in love? Do you think Tess is a lonely character? She had always been waiting for something or someone to guide her, and age had not altered that essential self. Academy Street is a very short work, and yet it encompasses the full scope of one woman's life. How did the compactness of the novel affect your reading? How does Costello concentrate so much story into so few pages? What is the effect of the world events that happen in the background of the book? Why do you think the tense of the prose changes between parts one and two? One reviewer has said that 'Mary Costello's writing has the kind of urgency that the great problems demand'. What 'great problems' do you think this novel raises, and how are they addressed?
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.