1. The novel ends with an act of tragedy that forever shakes the beliefs and worldview of our protagonist. Relate this to a time you were caught masturbating with a shampoo bottle, preferably one from a hotel.
2. Metaphorically speaking, the struggle of the heroine in the third act represents a dramatic shift in the paradigm of her being in … wait, I forgot what I was going to say. Where the hell was I?
3. In 1949 Joseph Campbell wrote THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES, in which he first proposed the concept of the monomyth, which mapped out the archetypal patterns of the traditional hero’s journey found in both ancient myth and modern day literature. Using Campbell’s work as a guide, compare and contrast the journey undertaken by the novel’s protagonist with that of Harry Hamlin’s character, Perseus, in the 1981 movie CLASH OF THE TITANS.
4. Ham figures as a central symbol throughout the text, both as food and clothing. How do the characters related to ham individually and collectively? What about contextually? Do you have ham in your house, and if so, how does your family relate to it?
5. Throughout the novel, the author uses a nonlinear narrative to switch back and forth between the present-day and the past, and in so doing, exposes the minor and major hypocrisies of the novel’s characters. How retarded does a person have to be not to get that? Really retarded or only a little bit retarded?
6. Man vs. man, man vs. nature, man vs. himself, or man vs. infected boil? Discuss.
7. The author uses the book’s natural setting to symbolize the innocence of its characters. Do you remember the time at summer camp that fat kid singed his ballsack trying to prove it was possible to light a fart?
8. How much more different would the book be if the antagonist were a party clown? A grocer? Charo?
9. As the novel progresses, it becomes clear that the author subscribes to the notion of a morally ambivalent existential universe in which the good are often punished as frequently as the wicked are rewarded. Given this, how much better does the book seem in your head if you replace all of its characters with the cast of the fourth season of BAYWATCH? And what does a reader’s assigning any specific character to Yasmine Bleeth say about their own spiritual beliefs?
10. With the character of the protagonist’s mother, the author makes a clear allusion to the repression women experienced prior to the rise of the liberation movement over the last 40 years. Without looking at the picture on the dust jacket, use this to determine whether or not the author meets your personal definition of “doable.”
11. Recall your favorite part of the story. Wait, really? That was your favorite part? Really?
12. The conclusion is a rapturous one that shocks the reader to the core with its wholly tragic act. Do you agree or disagree? A-ha! That was a trick question! The ending’s so totally happy! You didn’t read the book, did you, Margie? I knew it! Faker! —Rod Lott and Allan Mott
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Number 2 was kind of a stinker, but the rest were great. You’d only have to be a little bit retarded to find them funny.
OK, those were too funny.
You might think that infected boil thing is funny, but I have 2 days in the hospital tha would argue otherwise, Mr. Cracking Wise.