The Book of Jonas Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Refugees in the United States and our BookBrowse Review of The Book of Jonas.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The narrative of The Book of Jonas proceeds in short chapters, jump-cuts between Jonas's present life, his past, Christopher's journal entries, his interactions with his therapist, and chapters devoted to Rose's efforts on behalf of the families of soldiers missing in action. What is the effect of this layering of different perspectives and time frames? How would the novel have been different if told in a continuous, chronological, single point-of-view narrative?
2. What strikes the newly transplanted Jonas most strongly about American culture and his host family in particular? How is Jonas treated at school? What does Jonas's outsider perspective reveal about aspects of American culture and family life that most of us simply take for granted?
3. Why does Christopher follow Jonas when he flees from the village American forces have just destroyed? He says that Jonas was "simply trying to get out. Same as me" [p. 219]. What is Christopher trying to get out of?

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