Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for Mazeltov by Eli Zuzovsky

1. The novel begins with Adam sneaking away from a camping trip with his classmate Eleanor. What is Eleanor's significance to Adam? How do his early experiences influence Adam's later relationships?
2. At the end of Part I, Adam fails to perform his role in a school play, freezing up at the moment of his solo. What is the significance, throughout the novel, of performance, performativity, and the inability to perform? Are there other characters who struggle to meet expectations or fill their designated role?
3. Abbie disapproves of her mother, Liat, and Adam is judgmental toward his own parents. Do you agree with their judgments? Are you able to identify external factors that influence their parents' views and actions that aren't evident to Abbie and Adam? Have you experienced a gulf in the perceptions of different generations and found ways to bridge it?
4. Adam's father imposed his religious beliefs on his son in a dramatic way. Are you able to empathize with Adam's father? How does his relationship to his faith compare with that of other characters, such as Mémé? Have you ever been required to conform to someone else's religious practices and how did that affect you?
5. War is ever-present in the characters' lives. While listing role models, for example, Abbie mentions RBG and is reminded of RPGs. In what ways are Adam, Abbie, Khalil, and Ben aware and unaware of the effect of war on who they are? Can you discern a difference in their degrees of consciousness of war?
6. Many characters in Mazeltov have gone to great lengths to try to conform to their community's demands, from serving in the military to converting, to leaving the country. What changes have you made to fit in with your society, and how have those steps affected your sense of who you are?
7. Khalil tells Ben, "You wish you could be clean. You need to hate someone other than yourself." Do you agree with Khalil's diagnosis of Ben? How might this diagnosis apply to a whole society?
8. What do Adam and Khalil want and need from each other when they meet in New York? Do they receive it?
9. What do you think Adam hopes to accomplish by traveling outside of Israel? Do you believe he will succeed?
10. At the end of the book, Adam wonders "if he could ever find a way to undo shame, the organizing principle of his existence." What do you understand as the source of Adam's shame? What do you imagine might be the antidote?
11. Mazeltov follows a diverse cast of characters, each with their own struggles and voice. Which characters did you relate to? Which characters reminded you of yourself or of people you know?
12. Literature plays a significant role in the novel: Khalil is a poet, Sarah is studying Virgina Woolf, Adam dreams of following in the footsteps of his literary idols, and Vee channels her dramatic heroes. The author also plays with literary form—each character has not only a distinctive voice but their own form. What do you think the author intended by invoking literature and adopting many different forms? Which one would you choose to express your voice?
13. Mazeltov moves back and forth in time, shifting among past, present, and future. How did this nonlinear structure shape your experience of the novel? For example, how was your reading of "The Curtain" affected by the knowledge you had gained about Adam and his future in the preceding chapter, "Boys?"
14. Coming-of-age narratives traditionally envision a single individual achieving maturity upon the completion of a discrete experience. How does Mazeltov challenge this conception of coming-of-age? What role does the novel's setting—a bar mitzvah—play in this subversion?
15. Mazeltov is set against the backdrop of Israel's 2008 war in Gaza. We learn that Khalil later fled "the only place he loved … because the savagery in Gaza had crushed his soul." The novel was published as another war was raging. Can you imagine how the characters might react to these circumstances? And did the novel affect your understanding of this reality in any way?

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