Throughout the novel, Toby’s uncle Hugo is dying of brain cancer. In your opinion, what about that conversation was the final straw for her?Ħ. Melissa sticks by Toby throughout most of the investigation, and only leaves after the drunken evening when Toby tries to trick Savannah and Leon into confessing. Did their stories change your opinion of Toby? Do you agree with Susanna and Leon that his obliviousness carried a certain amount of culpability?ĥ. But then Susanna and Leon tell him about their struggles with Dominic in high school, and about how Toby failed to help them.

For most of the novel, Toby stands by his belief that he’s a good person. When you finished the novel, how did you feel about these questions of culpability? Did you see Toby as a victim, an accessory, or something more complicated?Ĥ. Rather than focusing purely on who committed the crime, much of The Witch Elm examines how many people’s actions contributed to Dominic’s death. How did you feel when you first encountered Toby at the beginning of the novel? As the story progressed, did he absorb the significance of his lie?ģ. Toby is relieved at having dodged serious consequences, and doesn’t think his lie was particularly important. The novel begins with Toby getting caught covering for his coworker Tiernan, who is pretending to be an underprivileged teen artist.

The novel opens and closes with Toby telling the reader that he considers himself a lucky person.

The witch elm