Purity Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Julian Assange and our BookBrowse Review of Purity.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. From the Sunlight Project to Purity Tyler herself, how is purity defined throughout the novel? Are any of these definitions realistic, or are they steeped in youthful idealism? What is at the root of the characters' impurities?
2. The epigraph quotes a scene in Goethe's Faust in which Mephistopheles (the Devil) says, "I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good." How does this notion of simultaneously benevolent and sinister intentions play out in Purity? Who are the novel's most powerful characters? How is their power derived: Through secrets? Money? Integrity?
3. How would you have answered Annagret's questionnaire, featured in the first chapter? What do Purity's responses say about her?

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.