• On page 164 the priest begins to think about the luxury that he is experiencing versus the pain others are receiving. How do you feel about this? do you think idleness in luxury while others are suffering is something to feel guilty about?—LK

• (167) The priest prepares to say mass for the village and he notices how the peacefullness of the vilage made him "all the more aware of his own sin". From what we saw in the prison can we infer that the priest can realte better to other sinners? Does he not fit in with his core believers? Which group does he seem to have the most impact on?—JP

• Pt 3 Ch 1. Does giving away the money he made from the baptisms because he knows he will be dying soon take away from the goodness and generosity of the act he is committing?—RA

• What do we ultimately think of the character called the half-caste? Was he there to move the plot along or is there something to him?—KM

• When I finished the 2nd part, I thought the priest was doing all his actions because it was his way to suffer and try to redeem himself. But then he says when talking with the lieutenant p.196, "I thought I was a fine fellow to have stayed when the others had gone.... It was all pride. Just pride because I stayed." Do you think his reasons for his continued service have stayed the same, or has his views changed over the years on the run?—KW

• On p. 210 he seems to be at peace with his death yet still is uneasy about it. Do you think this was just his final acceptance of death or actually coming to terms with what he did?—SM

• My question comes from page 216: The priest's last word sounded like "Excuse." Surely there is some significance to this. How did you interpret it?—CD

• Q: Throughout part 4, it discusses how the priest had an affect on other's lives, but at the time of their interactions, the priest was unaware of this. How often do you think we influence people but may not always be aware that we are doing so?—ER

• The novel ends with another unnamed priest showing up. Does the book end where it started with just another priest who will ultimately end up dead? (222)—BH