Augustown Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Rastafarianism and Dreadlocks and our BookBrowse Review of Augustown.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. How is Augustown (and the entirety of Jamaica) not only the setting but also a character in this novel?
2. In The New Yorker review, Laura Miller writes: "Like Jane Austen's Emma, Augustown is a village novel, and, even if (unlike Emma) it wears its politics on its sleeve, it exemplifies the belief that everything you want to know about human beings can be found in an overlooked, out-of-the-way little community, as long you pay it sufficient attention." Do you agree with this comparison? How does Augustown include "everything you want to know about human beings?"
3. Describe the secondary characters of Southpaw and Clarky. How are their stories and presence crucial to the novel?

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