Little Gods Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, The Tiananmen Square Massacre and our BookBrowse Review of Little Gods.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The epigraph of Little Gods features a quote from John Berger, author of Ways of Seeing: "The past is never there waiting to be discovered, to be recognized for exactly what it is. The past is not for living in...." Why do you think Jin selected this quote?
2. The very first question we see Su Lan ask is, "Do you believe in time?" How does each generation of Su Lan's family view time?
3. How does the concept of death work in Little Gods? Is Su Lan truly dead, in the eyes of the characters? What about Yongzong?

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