20 Questions for Book Discussion

1. Discuss the author’s modernist writing style in this novel and how it works or doesn’t work for you. Does it remind you of any other author(s)?

2. How did the author coax you into an alternate reality?

3. How much did you identify with the Ink Drinker (or not) and why?

4. The author used three classic fairytales in the novel. Which three were they? Of all the classic fairytales, which resonate most with you and why?

5. Sometimes bridges aren’t made of steel. Discuss the bridge that appears at the end of the novel.

6. Sometimes fate is random and chaos reigns, impacting us and our stories. Discuss how the Clerk changes the story from a tragedy to a happy ending. Are there any circumstances or events from your life that you’d like to change just to see how a different story could feel in your life?

7. Which character(s) did you relate most to and why?

8. What do you think of the proposed highway extension and bridge project from the novel? Would you be for or against it? What is your idea of a bridge to the future?

9. What did you think of One and Steve as a commentary on the plutocrats and billionaires of today?

10. Based on its game-like point system, what was the Org’s method and objective?

11. Discuss the dispatches that the Clerk and the Ink Drinker delivered, what they meant, and what impact their delivery had on the mission?

12. In fiction, authors are free to write practically anything. Should authors be subject to the kinds of rules the new regime is putting in place?

13. There are 50 years between the 1970s and the 2020s with many highly significant milestones and related events. Discuss the idea of a 50-year wave.

14. The author did not specify the genders of either the Clerk or the Ink Drinker. Why do you think that was? How did you perceive their genders, if at all, and to what extent did their genders matter?

15. What impact, if any, did the illustrations, print size, and book design have on your experience as a reader?

16. The author references Einstein, the moon landing, and quantum science. Why?

17. The author wrote a twist ending. What did you think of it?

18. Discuss the Clerk’s ex-therapist Bob, the Territorial Specialist, and the Org.

19. Discuss the island archipelago setting, the four seasons, and what impacts they had on the novel.

20. Given the chance to go on another Org mission with the Clerk, would you? What kind of mission would the Clerk and the Ink Drinker take next?