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One early September night in Florida, a stripper brings her daughter to work. April's usual babysitter is in the hospital, so she decides it's best to have her three-year-old daughter close by, watching children's videos in the office, while she works. Except that April works at the Puma Club for Men. And tonight she has an unusual client, a foreigner both remote and too personal, and free with his money. Lots of it, all cash. His name is Bassam. Meanwhile, another man, AJ, has been thrown out of the club for holding hands with his favorite stripper, and he's drunk and angry and lonely.From these explosive elements comes a relentless, raw, searing, passionate, page-turning narrative, a big-hearted and painful novel about sex and parenthood and honor and masculinity. Set in the seamy underside of American life at the moment before the world changed, it juxtaposes lust for domination with hunger for connection, sexual violence with family love. It seizes the reader by the throat with the same psychological tension, depth, and realism that characterized Andre Dubus's #1 bestseller, House of Sand and Fog--and an even greater sense of the dark and anguished places in the human heart.

2. The characters believe their own version of the truth, and each truth seems perfectly plausible while we're in the head of that character. Is everyone in this book (and outside it) susceptible to having false convictions? Is it possible for conflicting truths to exist at the same time?

3. Children are central to this novel, and even though love between the parents is rare, the children are loved. How is the love between parents and children a touchstone for various characters in the book? How are motherhood and fatherhood represented?

4. What is the effect of the author's use of foreign words such as "nuhood"?

5. Historical facts aside, what does the Florida setting bring to this novel? Could it have been set anywhere else in the country?

6. How are the characters molded by their pasts? Do any of them escape their upbringing?

7. How do you feel about the particular blend of fiction and history in this book? Should the author have strayed further from—or hewed closer to—the historical reality?

8. The characters all seem to think highly of themselves. What does that say about the meaning of "self-esteem" and the value we place on it?

9. How does social class affect the lives of the characters? Other "9/11 novels" center on the lives of the privileged, who no longer feel safe after the terrorist attacks. Here the characters (except for Jean) are on the economic edge. How does that shape the story and your response to it?

10. The author has chosen to tell this story in alternating third-person points of view, but each third-person point of view is so close to the character that it makes you feel almost as if you were inside that person's head. If the author had used first-person voices instead, would that have been too close for comfort? Does preserving a slight distance between the characters and the author make a difference in terms of where you place your trust?

11. To what extent is A.J. a victim of circumstances, and to what extent is he the author of his own predicament? What about the other characters?

12. What are the flaws and strengths of each of the characters in this book? Do they have anything in common?

13. Sex is obviously important to every character in this book, along a spectrum from chastity to pornography and rape. Are there any happy sexual relationships? Why or why not? What are the various images of women, and is the "western" or "nonwestern" view of women more prone to objectification and violence?

14. Are these characters shaped by their religious beliefs (or lack of them) or are their religious convictions shaped by their worldly experiences? What does this book have to say about religion?

15. Could Franny's abduction be seen as a parallel to the surprise attack on the United States? Both are "innocent," "young," "seemingly unaware." Why do you think that Franny doesn't suffer permanent damage, and how does it play into the themes of the book?

16. Why is it important to Bassam to know Spring's real name? What does it mean to them when Bassam touches the scar from her caesarian? What is the reader to think of it?

17. It is often said that fiction can reveal truths that nonfiction can't express. Is that the case here?

18. The central drama of this book takes place within fewer than 24 hours. The time line then stretches out, moving from individual psychology to a larger context, until we see each character in the light of actual historical events. Does that work for you? Why or why not?

19. Is there redemption at the end of this story?

This book is on these lists:

Flybynight's Wish List by flybynight
Books I've read since July 09 by jbaer440

All lists >>

• April 2012 Indie Next List
• March 2012 Indie Next List
• February 2012 Indie Next List