Book Clubs
Thinking of choosing Stunt Road for you book club? Below are a few questions you might consider for kick-starting the discussion. Click here for a downloadable PDF. I am happy to conduct online Q&A discussions with your group – contact me for details.
Stunt Road, by Gregory Mose
Discussion Questions
1. Stunt Road is a first person narrative by an untrustworthy, flawed and at times downright annoying narrator. Do you think that Pete has learned his lesson by the end of the book? Why or why not? How would you describe how he has grown? Can you forgive him?
2. How do your feelings about Jake evolve as the book progresses? Do you see him as a villain, a flawed hero, or simply as destructively naïve?
3. Pete bases his system of divination on the premise of what psychologists refer to as “confirmation bias,” that is our tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms what we already believe or wish to believe. Do the various characters in Stunt Road ever fall victim to confirmation bias? In what way might Pete be seen as the ultimate example of confirmation bias in action? Have you ever noticed this tendency in yourself or in your friends and colleagues?
4. Who or what is the real villain of Stunt Road. Corporations, cult leaders, religious extremists, new age gurus, astrologers, and a naïve and star-struck public all get a bit of a rough ride, but what do you think the book is really taking aim at?
5. At what point do you feel Pete crosses over from being naïve to being morally complicit in what is being done with his creation?
6. Are there any characters you identify with? How might you have acted differently if you were in Emily’s shoes? Diego’s? Pete’s?
7. Why do you think the author chose the title Stunt Road?
8. Jake seems to feel that Horokinetics can be helpful to people even if it is not true. He gives the example of Buddha, saying that even if one could disprove the existence of Buddha it would not undermine the value of Buddhism to its followers. Do you agree?
9. Is Pete right about fortune telling, that it is simply wishful thinking? Could such a system be faked? Do you ever read your horoscope? How accurate do you think it is, and why?
10. Can you think of a consumer product on which you are emotionally reliant? Are there products that you see as crucial to your self-image or your happiness? Would you feel the same if you could no longer wear your favorite brand of clothing, drive a certain brand of car or drink a certain soft drink? Is this necessarily a bad thing?
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