Discuss The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Feb. 16, 2017
by MattGrant

How does Paul Beatty use tragicomedy to bring reality and absurdity into focus?

Feb. 16, 2017
by MattGrant

How does the cover art summarize the narrator's core conflict?

Feb. 14, 2017
by beckys

Did you laugh or cry at the experiments run by the narrator's psychologist/social scientist dad? Does your experience of the world support his three-stage Theory of Quintessential Blackness?

Feb. 14, 2017
by beckys

Most novels that explore race in America are either set in the South or in New York City. How does The Sellout's backdrop of Los Angeles change the conversation?

Feb. 14, 2017
by beckys

What city/area is Dickens really in the LA area?

Feb. 11, 2017
by caroln

Marpessa calls the narrator Bonbon, a lightweight nickname. Is she tougher than he is? Besides the bus, what else does she control? Would The Sellout be very different if it were narrated by a black woman?

Feb. 08, 2017
by christineb

Laura Jane tells Marpessa she's "far too smart not to know that it isn't race that's the problem but class". Is Laura Jane right?

Feb. 08, 2017
by rebeccar

Why does Hominy want to be the narrator's slave? Even though he calls Bonbon "massa," is Hominy ultimately his own master now that he has been emancipated by the entertainment industry?

Feb. 08, 2017
by poornimaa

Paul Beatty is the first American to win the UK Man Booker Prize. Does the novel deliver a universal message? Or is it exclusively a book about American strife?

Feb. 08, 2017
by juliaa

How did you react when the narrator created Dickens's boundary lines, and Marpessa ejected strangers from the bus?

Feb. 03, 2017
by Peggy H

What is unique about the way Paul Beatty sees the world, and the words he uses to draw us in?

Feb. 02, 2017
by jww

The beautiful Supreme Court Justice asks her colleagues to consider what the words "separate" "equal," and "black" really mean. How would you answer her? Do your answers explain the shooting of Bonbon's father?

Feb. 02, 2017
by jww

Do you think THE SELLOUT puts a positive light on blacks in America or does it have the opposite effect?

Feb. 02, 2017
by jww

Why isn't Foy able to consider the plight of other non-white populations? Will it ever be possible for race to not matter in America?

Feb. 02, 2017
by SusanB

Does the concept of a ledger, designed to keep track debts and payments accurately reflect the history of humanity in America? When Foy Cheshire calls the narrator a sellout, what is he saying was sold? Who were the buyers?

Feb. 01, 2017
by pennyp

Which of the riffs in the book will stay in your mind the longest?

Feb. 01, 2017
by sallyh

What's so smart about the Dum Dum Donut club? When the narrator ponders "What exactly is our thing?", what is he asking about?

Jan. 28, 2017
by MattGrant

If you were a Supreme Court justice hearing the case of Me v. The United States of America, how would you rule? What does Hampton Fiske ultimately prove about America's attempts to legislate life?

Jan. 18, 2017
by davinamw

The Sellout

Discuss The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Celebrity Culture

How does Paul Beatty use tragicomedy to bring reality and absurdity into focus?

How does the cover art summarize the narrator's core conflict?

Did you laugh or cry at the experiments run by the narrator's psychologist/social scientist dad? Does your experience of the world support his three-stage Theory of Quintessential Blackness?

Most novels that explore race in America are either set in the South or in New York City. How does The Sellout's backdrop of Los Angeles change the conversation?

What city/area is Dickens really in the LA area?

Marpessa calls the narrator Bonbon, a lightweight nickname. Is she tougher than he is? Besides the bus, what else does she control? Would The Sellout be very different if it were narrated by a black woman?

Laura Jane tells Marpessa she's "far too smart not to know that it isn't race that's the problem but class". Is Laura Jane right?

Why does Hominy want to be the narrator's slave? Even though he calls Bonbon "massa," is Hominy ultimately his own master now that he has been emancipated by the entertainment industry?

Paul Beatty is the first American to win the UK Man Booker Prize. Does the novel deliver a universal message? Or is it exclusively a book about American strife?

How did you react when the narrator created Dickens's boundary lines, and Marpessa ejected strangers from the bus?

What is unique about the way Paul Beatty sees the world, and the words he uses to draw us in?

The beautiful Supreme Court Justice asks her colleagues to consider what the words "separate" "equal," and "black" really mean. How would you answer her? Do your answers explain the shooting of Bonbon's father?

Do you think THE SELLOUT puts a positive light on blacks in America or does it have the opposite effect?

Why isn't Foy able to consider the plight of other non-white populations? Will it ever be possible for race to not matter in America?

Does the concept of a ledger, designed to keep track debts and payments accurately reflect the history of humanity in America? When Foy Cheshire calls the narrator a sellout, what is he saying was sold? Who were the buyers?

Which of the riffs in the book will stay in your mind the longest?

What's so smart about the Dum Dum Donut club? When the narrator ponders "What exactly is our thing?", what is he asking about?

If you were a Supreme Court justice hearing the case of Me v. The United States of America, how would you rule? What does Hampton Fiske ultimately prove about America's attempts to legislate life?

Sorry, The Sellout by Paul Beatty is closed for new posts.
Please go to bookbrowse.com/booktalk for a full list of conversations.

Discuss The Sellout by Paul Beatty

Sorry, The Sellout by Paul Beatty is closed for new posts.Please go to bookbrowse.com/booktalk for a full list of conversations.

Sorry, The Sellout by Paul Beatty is closed for new posts.
Please go to bookbrowse.com/booktalk for a full list of conversations.