Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Uproar by Karim Dimechkie

1. Sharif and Adjoua are struggling financially amid their infant daughter's health diagnosis. How does financial anxiety underpin the action of the book, particularly related to the dynamics of their marriage?
2. Social media comments, direct messages, emails, texts, etc. are an important way that people communicate throughout the novel. How does technology impact the relationships between Sharif, Aberto, and Adjoua? How does it impact the conflict between Sharif and the Fleurimes? If this story were set in the pre-internet era, what would change and what would stay the same?
3. Do you think Sharif's fears about Adjoua and Aberto are justified? Why or why not?
4. Even though Sharif and Adjoua's parents both have the financial means to help them, the couple decides not to ask for their help in order live independently according to their own values. If you were in their position (living paycheck-to-paycheck with a sick child), would you make the same sacrifice?
5. Through his work at CAPPA, Sharif is able to do a great deal of good, philanthropic work for his community. Yet we also see the shortcomings of the organization both with the issue of Sharif's raise and as the situation with the Fleurimes escalates. What are some critiques of the nonprofit model that CAPPA exemplifies? In contrast, what does the nonprofit model do well?
6. The Uproar is filled with a rich, hyper-focused sense of place, from Manhattan's Lower East Side to Flatbush, Brooklyn; what does the setting add to the story? How would you describe Sharif's experience of New York compared to how Emmanuel and his son experience the city?
7. Sharif and Adjoua love each other deeply, but the secrets they keep from one another threaten to upend their marriage and any trust between them. Do you feel this is resolved for them at the end of the book?
8. Lawyers and police officers are crucial to The Uproar's many twists and turns. How do each of these characters experience law enforcement, and how is that experience tied to their identities—cultural, racial, religious, or as citizens and/or immigrants?
9. Sharif believes himself to be a good person but is forced, again and again, to examine his morals and sense of duty. Did The Uproar inspire you to ask yourself any difficult questions about what you believe, and what choices you might make?
10. Were you surprised by the ending? What do those final chapters reveal about Sharif?

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