Discussion Questions for The Mandibles
Did you enjoy the book?
Was this actually two stories? Not getting your promised inheritance or economic apocalypse? Did it need both?
Is Willing the hero of the book? Who was the villain?
Where the characters rounded or caricatures / stereotypes? Did they need to be to get the story across?
Too much economic explanation?
Did the ‘Clockwork Orange’ esque slang add / detract from the story?
“Plots set in the future are about what people fear in the present. They’re not about the future at all,” Lowell pompously tells his daughter – true?
A recurring topic was the demise of books and fiction, amongst other things – is it this vision of the future which authors fear most?
Did it need a happy/positive ending?
Should the book have ended with the long trek to the Citadel, instead of the post-crisis world and the move to the Nevada Promised Land? Was this two books masquerading as one?
Is this premise plausible? Should we be worried about this slide into chaos for the UK post-Brexit?
Do you think this book is a product of its time? Or will it remain relevant in the years ahead?
Who would you recommend the book to?
Taken from http://www.loveliestbookgroup.com/2016/08/the-mandibles-2015/