Signal and Noise Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

1. Signal & Noise is an historical novel that concerns itself with the early days of the technological revolution. Inventions like the telegraph cable, the modern sewer system, weapons of mass destruction, even an elevator on the bluffs of Maine, abound. How is the novel's depiction of advancements in communication, promotion, and advertising similar to our modern age?
   


2. Nearly every character in the novel has lost someone dear to them: Chester and Franny have lost their daughter; both Jack Trace and Maddy are orphans; J. Beumol Spude has lost a wife; Joachim Lindt has lost a father and eventually his own wife; Katerina, by the novel's end, has lost everyone. What are the ways that these absences make themselves felt in the story? And furthermore, how do these individual tragedies encourage or inspire the characters into action?
   


3. The author John Griesemer, in addition to writing fiction, is a professional stage, film, and television actor (see biography). How do you think this experience is communicated in the book? What elements of the novel feel particularly theatrical or dramatically staged? And how, too, are the characters actors in their own plays?
   

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