Reading guide for Good Kings Bad Kings by Susan Nussbaum

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Discuss the title of the book, and the passage that it comes from (page 135). How does this title relate to various characters in the novel
2. Discuss the relationship of Jimmie and Yessie. What does Jimmie derive from their relationship? What does Yessie get from Jimmie?
3. How do the disabled characters in this book compare with disabled characters in other books you've read?
4. Why do you think the author used a first-person narrator approach to telling the story?
5. Is it unusual to hear disabled characters tell their own stories? Why or why not? How might this impact the way you view disabled people in real life?
6. How does Joanne's perspective on things change over the course of the novel, and why? Does she think differently about love? About her disability? About her ability to change things?
7. The book makes the argument that institutionalization is cruel and inhuman. Why does our society continue to rely so heavily on institutionalization as a resource for disabled children?
8. The book makes the argument that abuse and neglect are a natural outcome of the institutional structure. Do you think institutions such as the Illinois Learning and Life Skills Center are still reasonable living alternatives for disabled people? What are some other possible alternatives to institutionalization?
9. What role does paternalism play in the lives of disabled people? Can you give some examples?
10. The book talks a lot about jobs: job discrimination, jobs with low pay, overwork, relationships with coworkers, past jobs, and even possible future jobs. How important is your job in your life? Since more than 70 percent of disabled people experience chronic unemployment, how might this affect their adult lives?
11. If you could predict what some of the characters' lives would be like ten years from now, what might they be doing and where would they be? Yessenia? Jimmie? Louie? Pierre? Mia?
12. There is frequent debate concerning whether white writers can authentically represent characters of other races in their work. Disabled people often complain that books written by nondisabled writers can't authentically represent disabled characters. Considering this book and others, what's your opinion on this issue?

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