It's Fine By Me Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Arvid Jansen: A Familiar Face and our BookBrowse Review of It's Fine By Me.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. Early on in the novel, Audun explains that he wears sunglasses because bright light makes him sick. How did this affect your reading of what followed? Why do you think Petterson opens his book by immediately calling into question his narrator's reliability?
2. While hiding behind his sunglasses and avoiding close emotional connection with others, Audun still seems to care deeply about being trendy—dressing in the latest fashions, listening to the coolest bands. Do you think this paradox rings true of adolescence? What about in adulthood? Ultimately what do you think drives Audun more: his desire to fit in, or to be apart?
3. Discuss Petterson's use of the forest as a metaphor. To Audun it's often a refuge, especially when he is young and imagined himself the Native American friend of Davy Crockett. "As soon as I was on my own, I was Wata," he remembers. "Inside our room, I stood by the window gazing out at the dark edge of the forest, longing to be there." When he gets older, however, Audun is drawn to Jack London's stories about the dangers of the natural world, and discovers that as easily as it can provide refuge for him, it also hides his father. In fact, when he first sees his father, he "raises his hand as if to salute me, like an Indian would."

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.