Man in My Basement (Mosley) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Man in My Basement:

1. What has happened to Charles Blakey that he finds himself down on his luck?

2. Based on careful research, Anniston Bennet chooses Charles—why? And what prompts Charles to accept the offer, even though, as it turns out, he doesn't really need the money?

3. In what way does the power relationship shift between the two men?

4. Talk about the two men's conversations with one another: how do they challenge each other...and what philosophical issues are at stake?

5. What do you learn about Bennet? Do you find him worthy of redemption? Is he a believable character—or more of an allegorical figure, standing in for evil incarnate?

6. How, eventually, is Blakey transformed by the end of the book?

7. This book revolves around convesations and ideas rather than plot. Did you find it engrossing, or was it difficult to get through, dense and uninteresting?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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