The Last Nomad Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Nomadic Housing: Somalia and Beyond and our BookBrowse Review of The Last Nomad.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The author introduces the reader to the Somali proverb, "When an elder dies, a library is burned." In The Last Nomad, Salh tells us that she feels a sense of urgency to archive her family's stories and keep them alive. Does your family or culture have a tradition of oral histories? Why is it important to learn from our elders and earlier generations?
2. How much did you know about Somalia, nomadic life, and/or the Somali Civil War before reading The Last Nomad? Did the story introduce you to events or lifestyles that you were originally unfamiliar with or to a new perspective? If so, in what ways?
3. The author was exposed to Somalia's rich oral tradition as a nomad and begins each chapter with a Somali proverb. Did any of these ring true to you or remind you of proverbs you have heard from your own culture? Which proverbs resonated with you the most?

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