Discussion Questions

Chris Abani's GraceLand

1. What enables Aunt Felicia to emigrate to the United States?

2. In Innocent's flashback to the ruined church in the Biafran War, why have the enemy troops left behind pork, beer and wine?

3. What causes a timber yard to catch on fire as Elvis and Redemption wait for a car to pick them up to do some work for the Colonel? How does Abani use this episode to comment on the consequences of street justice in Lagos?

4. What has the Colonel hired Elvis and Redemption to do for him in Chapter 22?

5. How does Redemption's theory about their job relate to larger questions about the colonization of sub-Saharan Africa?

6. What is Operation Clean the Nation?

7. What does Elvis learn over the course of the novel? To what extent does he grow up?

8. What kills Sunday, and what is odd about the depiction of his death?

Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

1. How does Marjane learn about the theories of Karl Marx? Why are the images of Marx and God share a panel in the middle of p. 13?

2. What is at stake in the disagreement between Marjane and her father over the King's status as a divinely appointed ruler of Iran (19)?

3. What is the shift in Marjane's grandfather's political outlook between panels 5 and 8 on p. 23, and what causes this shift?

4. Explain the "punchline" in the final panel on p. 39.

5. Why do Siamak, Mohsen and Uncle Anoosh return to the family when they do? Why is this return so brief?

6. How does Satrapi's family respond to hearing the national anthem on TV? Why is it surprising to hear it, and what allows this to happen?

7. What does Marjane witness in a grocery store on p. 92-93, and why is it upsetting to her?

8. How does Satrapi use graphic elements to convey a grim irony on p. 102?

9. Why must Marjane's aunt seek approval from her former window washer on p. 121?

10. Why has Satrapi titled the chapter beginning on p. 143 "The Dowry"?

11. Why does she attempt to commit suicide on p. 272? How does she attempt this?

12. What does Marjane paint to get into the College of Art?

13. Which factors are crucial in her passing the ideological test?

14. How does Marjane avoid getting picked up for wearing lipstick on pp. 286-7 and what are the ethical problems with this? How different characters respond this situation?

15. Why does she get married?

16. Compare the final panels on pp. 153 and 341.

Naguib Mahfouz's Karnak Café

1. How does the narrator learn the story of Isma'il al-Shaykh?

2. What is Isma'il's social class?

3. Describe some of the strategies that Isma'il's interrogators use to accomplish their goals.

4. What is "the very first test" that Isma'il fails, according to Khalid Safwan?

5. Define fedayeen.

6. What does the "corpse's stench" refer to on p. 63?

Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger

1. Which circumstances enable the novel's protagonist Balram to advance in his society? Which skills does he possess? Which lucky occurrences influence his advance?

2. How does Adiga use the term "the Darkness" in this novel? Identify one example of a particularly effective use of the term.

3. Why does Balram's return to Laxmangarh go poorly in the novel's second chapter?

4. How does Balram defeat his rival Ram Persad in the novel's third chapter?

5. How do Balram's fellow drivers determine status within their group?

6. Why are there defecating men standing in a row on p. 222?

7. Why is the music so loud on p. 229?

8. When and why does the narrator say "Ha!"?

9. Why is Mr. Ashok already having a bad week even before Balram murders him?

10. What is Vijay's story?

11. How does Adiga's use of animals as symbols add to our understanding of his story? Provide a specific example.