Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, and our BookBrowse Review of Netherland.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
About The Book
Joseph O'Neill's
Netherland is the mesmerizing story of a European man
living in New York City after 9/11, with two troubled loves--that for his wife,
and that for his adopted country. Told in a lyrical voice, the story of his
journey involves an immersion in the cricket-playing subculture of the city, a
tragic friendship with a Trinidadian immigrant, and a darkening understanding of
the great American narrative. It is a story of heritage and home, of sports and
work, of friendship and love, and it ultimately offers universal truths about
the search for meaning in life and the hope for renewal.
Reader's Guide
- Describe the structure of Netherland. Why does the author open with
Hans moving to New York City and then quickly jump into the future with Chuck's
death and then jump back? Do you think these flashbacks and foward leaps relate
to the narrative arc of the story? Is this simply how we tell stories? When you
tell a story do you tell it chronologically? Why?
- Childhood often slips into the story--that of both Hans and Chuck. Early
on in the novel, Hans mentions that he doesn't connect to himself as a child
("I, however, seem given to self-estrangement"), then proceeds to produce
numerous memories of his childhood and of his mother. How is this reconnecting
with his heritage and his past important to the story? How is Chuck often the
catalyst for these memories?
- Chuck is more connected to his heritage than Hans. He socializes with
others from the West Indies; he's marriees to a woman from his birth country, et
cetera. How do flashbacks to his childhood differ from Hans's and how do they
affect the novel as a whole?
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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 Vintage.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.