About The Art of Disappearing       1. There is an immediate attraction between Toby and Mel. What is it about their characters that draws them to one another? Why do they decide to get married after such a short acquaintance?       2.   Toby is a capable of both strange and wonderful things. But there is an unknowable and perhaps darker element to his craft. Why is Mel so accepting of this?       3.   How does Mel’s childhood prepare her for her relationship with Toby?       4.   This is primarily Mel’s story and not Toby’s. In what ways does she wield power over him? How is Mel capable of her own brand of magic?       5.   What is it about Toby that draws women to him in Las Vegas? What draws Greta to him?       6.   What is Mel’s relationship to fabric? What is the function of her quilt? Do you believe that she can actually hear voices in the fabric?       7.   Las Vegas is a city of heat and Amsterdam is a city of water and rain. How do these climates effect the lives of Toby and Mel?       8. The Dissolving World is powerful illusion. What does is represent for Toby? What does it represent for Mel? Does the possibility for their love exist inside this illusion?       9.   Toby and Theo at one time each possessed extraordinary powers. How do their philosophies of magic differ?       10.   Compare the fates of Max and Toby. What do you think happens to both of these characters?       11.   After finishing the book, do you think it is a coincidence that Toby and Mel met at the Old Stand Saloon?