For those of you that haven't or couldn't attend book club lately, we'll be publishing the previous months' discussion questions here. I hope eventually to post discussion questions for all of the books we've covered since I took over a couple of years ago and beyond, all the way to the beginning over a decade and a half ago. It will take a while. Until then, we will be posting discussion questions on a weekly basis. Here are the questions from a 2011 title, Six Suspects. We hope these questions spark discussions of your own.
Six Suspects
by Vikas Swarup
Summary:
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Slumdog Millionaire comes a richly textured social thriller.
Seven years ago, Vivek "Vicky" Rai, the playboy son of the home minister of Uttar Pradesh, murdered bartender Ruby Gill at a trendy restaurant in New Delhi, simply because she refused to serve him a drink. Now Vicky Rai has been killed at the party he was throwing to celebrate his acquittal. The police arrest six guests with guns in their possession: a corrupt bureaucrat who claims to have become Mahatma Gandhi; an American tourist infatuated with an Indian actress; a Stone Age tribesman on a quest; a Bollywood sex symbol with a guilty secret; a mobile-phone thief who dreams big; and an ambitious politician prepared to stoop low.
Swarup unravels the lives and motives of the six suspects, offering both a riveting page-turner and an insightful look into the heart of contemporary India.
Discussion Questions
What were the flaws of each of the suspects? Did you find each of them likeable, despite their flaws? Who did you identify with most? Did you have a favorite?
When we first meet the suspects, each is making a decision that will change their lives. In what cases were these good, bad, or foolish decisions? Could any of the characters have avoided their downfall? Do you believe in fate?
Do you believe that Mohan Kumar was actually possessed by a spirit, or do you take the doctor’s view? What do you think the author intended? If Mohan had been your husband, father, or employer, would you have preferred he stay Gandhi?
Vikas Swarup has chosen to relay each character in a different way. The chapters about Shabnam Saxena are told through her diary entries. The chapters on Jagannath are told through phone conversations. The chapters on Eketi are often actually told from the point of view of Ashok, the welfare officer. Did you find this method effective? How did it contribute to your understanding of each character?
The Motives section takes up the bulk of the novel and it deals with each suspect’s individual journey. Does the solving of the main crime become secondary to the lives of the suspects? Did you find that being steeped in the character’s lives enriched the solving of the mystery at the end?
It seemed that Shabnam genuinely wanted to help Ram Dulari in the beginning. But at some point she began to feel threatened by her. When did this happen? Was she ever really able to give selflessly of herself? Do you think her wanting to help Ram Dulari had something to do with her feelings for her sister? Does she redeem herself by the end of the novel?
Six Suspects has been called a social satire on India. In what ways is the book satirical? Did this add to your enjoyment of the novel? Which were the parts you found funniest?
How did you feel about the portrayal of the American, Larry Page? Do you think he is a typical American? Do you think his portrayal speaks toward how the world views Americans?
What do you think Shabnam and Larry would be like as a couple? Do you think they would be happy?
In the cases where the suspects were referred to by their professions, do you think they would correspond to their American counterparts? The corrupt politician in Washington? The Hollywood celebrity? The pick pocket in the big city? Or were they uniquely Indian? What do you find most appealing in reading international fiction? Learning about a different culture, or finding people and situations you can relate to?
A character like Eketi would have no real counterpart in the U.S. Were his motivations harder for you to understand? Or did they tap into a greater human need?
Family ties can be very strong, either from obligation or love. How did these relationships affect the characters’ choices? Discuss how the characters were either helped or hindered by their families.
Many of the characters are impressed by beauty. Eketi falls in love with Champi, who is actually disfigured. She in turn, cannot see Eketi because she is blind. Are these two characters fortunate to not be so swayed by physical beauty, or are they missing out?
There is a theme that runs throughout the novel, of dual identities, or identity confusion. The corrupt Mohan Kumar becomes virtuous Gandhi Baba, Ram Dulari metamorphoses into Shabnam Saxena, Larry Page is mistaken for his namesake the Google founder, Eketi Onge is forced to become Jiba Korwa, Munna Mobile becomes Vijay Singh, and mafia don Jagannath Rai masquerades as a messiah of the poor. Do you find these questions of identity to be true in life? Have there been times in your own life when you have been mistaken for someone else, or perhaps even found yourself taking on a different persona? When you’ve noticed someone else taking on a different identity or name? What were the reasons for that?
Each of the suspects is either from the lower or upper class. Class is a theme that Vikas Swarup also wrote about in his first novel. What is the commentary here? How does class play into the plot? What is its effect on the characters?
How did you feel about the resolution of the novel? Do you think the characters got what they deserved? Did you agree with the murderer’s reasoning for killing Vicky Rai?
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