Book Club Discussion Questions and Guide for The Rest of Our Lives by Benjamin Markovits

1. What role does the road trip structure play in the novel? Do you see the road trip as escape or confrontation?
2. How did you think Tom as a narrator framed our reading experience—did you find him a likeable character? A reliable storyteller? Why, or why not?
3. Which character did you feel more empathy towards in the unraveling of Tom and Amy's family, if anyone?
4. What does Tom's journey reveal about his past, relationships, and mental state? How do his encounters shape your understanding of Tom's character?
5. What does the turmoil in Tom's work life reveal to the reader? Did you interpret this as mere background, or is it integral to Tom's inner life?
6. Basketball recurs throughout the novel. What significance does this motif hold at this point in Tom's life?
7. What role does masculinity play in the novel? Did you think of Tom as a stereotypically masculine character?
8. What does Tom's attitude towards his own health problems reveal about him?
9. How do you think this novel comments on the concept of "midlife"? Do you think Tom is experiencing a "classic" midlife crisis?
10. How did you interpret Tom's final line to Amy? What do you think the author intended for us to take away from this?

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