Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Patriots by Sana Krasikov

1. In the novel's opening pages we find Florence Fein engaged in the act of breaking her father's heart. She's leaving her family—and America—and boarding a steamer ship to Russia. Why do you think Flor- ence chooses to uproot herself like this? How much of her decision is driven by politics, by opportunity, by love?
2. One of the book's ironies is that Florence is seeking freedom when she leaves America: She "fled the Land of the Free to feel free." What forms of liberation and, conversely, entrapment does she find in Russia? Does she eventually find freedom on her own terms?
3. All of the main characters of the novel have their loyalties tested. What types of allegiances are put to the test in the book? Do you believe that Florence remains a fierce defender of Russia till the novel's end or does her experience with the pilot change her? How do you interpret the novel's title? Who are the "patriots" in the novel?
4. When we meet Lenny, he's going through a crisis. After several years in Moscow, he finds that his skills are no longer unique, and he's reckoning with why he's really come to Russia and why he remains. Do you think making money is the only reason he stays in Moscow? What else is keeping him there? Do you agree with Julian that, just like Florence, Lenny doesn't want to return home "a failure"?
5. Deception, of others and of oneself, is a motif in the book. Do you think self-deception can be a key to survival? What role does self-deception play in the lives of the Brinks? Julian says that there is "a certain shrewd- ness" to Florence's ability to use her interrogators' methods against them. Do you agree with his assessment? Does her adaptiveness make you see her as self-serving or heroic?
6. To what degree do you see this as a novel about immigrants ver- sus a novel about Americans abroad? Was it surprising to learn that many Americans, especially Jews, left the United States during periods of eco- nomic and political hardship?
7. Before the war, it's Leon who wants to stay in the U.S.S.R. and Florence who wants to leave. What precipitates the reversal in their views?
8. Why do you think Florence is unable to say the word "America" when her son, Julian, urges her to immigrate with the rest of the family? Do you agree with Julian's assessment that his mother is "a grade-A delu- sional narcissist"?
9. During Feffer and Mikhoels's trip to America, Feffer thinks: "The faces of the American Jews were hardly distinguishable from those of Rus- sian ones. Only their eyes were different. The absence of fear in them alarmed him." Why do you think Feffer is disturbed by the enthusiastic goodwill of the American Jews? Describe Florence's feelings about being a Jew in Russia. Do you think her feelings change in Siberia? If so, how?
10. Julian is the Russian-born child of two American Jews. In your opinion, is Julian more of a Soviet Jew or an American one? How does his awareness of his parents' lives complicate his identity?
11. How does The Patriots affect the way you look at the America- Russia relationship over the course of the twentieth century, and today? How has the rivalry between the two countries been mutually beneficial?

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