Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of The Brooklyn Follies.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About this Guide
The following list of questions about
The Brooklyn Follies are intended
as resources to aid individual readers and book groups who would like to learn
more about the author and this book. We hope that this guide will provide you a
starting place for discussion, and suggest a variety of perspectives from which
you might approach
The Brooklyn Follies.
About the Book
Nathan Glass, a curmudgeonly fifty-nine-year-old retired insurance salesman in
recovery from lung cancer, returns to Brooklyn looking for a place to die. The
dark premise of Paul Auster's
The Brooklyn Follies belies the humor and
surprising mirth Nathan finds upon moving back to his birthplace. Along with his
literature-loving, cab-driving nephew Tom and a cast of characters including
flamboyant ex-cons, married beauties, a silent nine-year-old, and a lip syncing
drag queen, Nathan shows us the joys of modern urban life, the city as a refuge
for lost souls, and the rescue a lonely man can feel when he embraces community.
Discussion Questions
- What role does redemption play in the novel? Nathan tells us that he
returned to Brooklyn because "I was looking for a quiet place to die," and
yet he manages to build a quirky, vibrant life. What are some other examples
of redemption in the book?
- The need for companionship both causes pain for the characters in The
Brooklyn Follies and at the same time offers them fulfillment. What
alliances and loves develop which demonstrate this need? How do the need for
community and the need for love distinguish themselves or blend into one
another?
- Nathan claims that he is not the central character of this story. "The
distinction of bearing the title of Hero of this book belongs to my nephew,
Tom Wood." In what ways is this statement misleading? In what ways is it
accurate? Why would Nathan make such a claim?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Picador.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.