- Eye of Horace is based loosely on the ancient Egyptian myth of Isis and Osiris. Are you familiar with this myth (or did you read about it in the Author’s Note)? What similarities did you notice between the myth and the characters/events in the novel?
- Iris and Oscar are each other’s first (and only) love. Do you believe soul mates exist, or are there many potential partners for everybody? What makes you think so?
- Seth claims to be in love with his brother’s wife. Do you believe he truly loves Iris, or does his motive for pursuing her have more to do with his relationship with Oscar?
- Sibling rivalry plays a large role in the novel, both between Oscar and Seth and between Iris and Nora. There is even, arguably, a degree of sibling-like rivalry in the relationship between Horace and his cousin, Andrew. How does the relationship between siblings in childhood affect their relationships in adulthood? How big a step do you believe it would be to go from ordinary sibling squabbles to murder?
- In what ways does the relationship between Horace and Andrea mirror the relationship between Iris and Oscar? Do you think Horace notices how similar his own love life is to his mother’s?
- Why does Iris become so attached to Seth’s son with Jennifer? Do you think her reaction to Jennifer’s rejection of her offer to raise the baby is justified?
- How do you account for Horace’s bitterness toward his mother through most of the novel? What has made him so angry with the woman who risked her life to raise him?
- Is Horace right about his mother? Is Iris really a saccharine-sweet, too-perfect person? In what ways does her journal reveal that there might be slightly rougher edges to her personality?
- What, if anything, makes Horace change his mind about his mother? About his father? About his uncle, Seth?
- How much of Horace’s evolution over the course of the novel do you attribute to his quitting drinking? How much credit do you give Andrea’s influence? How much of the credit belongs to Iris, via the journals?
