Sign up for our newsletters to receive our Most Anticipated Books of 2025!

Book Club Discussion Questions for The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Beyond the Book |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

The Bullet Swallower

A Novel

by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus (7):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • First Published:
  • Jan 23, 2024, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jan 2025, 272 pages
  • Rate this book

About this Book

Book Club Discussion Questions

Print PDF

In a book club? Subscribe to our Book Club Newsletter!

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

  1. One of the central questions posed in the novel is: Can we be better than our forebears? Do you think we can? What would this look like?
  2. In her Author's Note, James says, "Everything in this book is true except for the stuff I made up." What do you think mixing fact and fiction added to the story?
  3. One recurring element of the novel is time and how it moves in a spiral. What role did time play in the story? And do you think this could be true? Could time move in a spiral?
  4. What do you think the Rio Grande represented in the novel? Did this story change what you thought about the Texas/Mexico border?
  5. Do you think Antonio ended up in Heaven or Hell? Or somewhere else?
  6. Do you think Remedio was right to refuse to take Antonio when he was a baby?
  7. Are there any secrets of legends from your own family that you think would make a good novel?


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

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $50 for 12 months or $18 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Beyond the Book:
  A History of the Texas Rangers

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
The Wager
by David Grann
From the bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a gripping story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth.
Book Club Giveaway!
Win Help Wanted

Help Wanted by Adelle Waldman

From the best-selling author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. comes a funny, eye-opening tale of work in contemporary America.

Enter

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Beast of the North Woods
    by Annelise Ryan

    When a local fisherman is mauled to death, it seems like the only possible cause is a mythical creature.

  • Book Jacket

    Harlem Rhapsody
    by Victoria Christopher Murray

    The extraordinary story of the woman who ignited the Harlem Renaissance.

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

T the L

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.