Geoffrey Braithwaite is the narrator of the novel, guiding the audience through the life of Flaubert. Given the importance of perspectives in the texts, should we consider Geoffrey a reliable narrator?

Two relationships come to define the novel. Compare the relationship between Geoffrey and Flaubert to the relationship between Geoffrey and Ellen.

Parrots appear throughout the book in many different guises, all of them mentioned by Geoffrey. How does the symbolic meaning of the parrots change and evolve over the course of the book?