Away Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Yiddish Theatre in America and our BookBrowse Review of Away.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Dreams are a recurring theme in the novel. What are Lillian’s dreams, both literal and metaphorical? How do these illustrate or inform the larger subject of the American dream?
   


2. Much of the novel centers around self-invention and reinvention. Can you identify some characters who invent themselves over the course of the novel? Which characters are successful? Which characters are unable to complete the process?
   


3. According to folktales, “when you save the golden fish, the turbaned djinn, the talking cat, he is yours forever” (p. 43). Which characters in the novel are saved, in one way or another? Which characters do the saving?
   

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Random House Reader's Circle. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.