'Man in the Dark' by Paul Auster - Book Club Discussion Questions

August Brill can’t sleep. His divorced daughter and suffering granddaughter are with him in the house, but he chooses to lie in bed and make up a story to distract from regrets about his life. Yet his fictional world and real world eerily mirror the state of his mind with an America at civil war and a confused soldier sent to kill the author of it all. But are the real and the imagined one? Use these book club discussion questions on Man in the Dark to dive in.

Spoiler Warning: These book club discussion questions reveal important details about Man in the Dark by Paul Auster. Finish the book before reading on/

1. What is the main theme of this novella?

2. Do you like August Brill as a character? Why or why not?

3. Which part of the novella was more intriguing? Brill’s real life narrative or his fictional?

4. How does Brill’s discussion with his granddaughter about the three films also work as a discussion for Brill’s own life?

5. Why do you think Brill named his main fictional character Brick?

6. Why does Brill end his fictional story so abruptly?

7. What do you think of Brick’s fictional America? Does it resonate with the world today?

8. Will Brill’s conclusion about the world be the one he takes to his grave?

9. Will Brill’s family move on to better things?

10. Rate Man in the Dark on a scale of 1 to 5.