Chapter 1: What the?

Remember: You don't have to answer all the questions...one or two will do fine...or even just your own commentary. Just make sure you have a decent paragraph so I can count it for credit. This should be a conversational blog, so don't try to sound smarter than you are...nobody likes that guy...just be you and seek out new info when you can.

Raison d'être = reason for existence
Ce n'etais pas moi = It's not/wasn't me

Why does the narrator want to create/invent all of the things he speaks of at the beginning of the chapter? What does that reveal about him?
What does it tell us about the narrator that his physical activity before jujitsu was tambourining?
What does the narrator mean when he says, "Jose"? What does this do to characterize him?
"even though I don't have dreams of running the family jewelry business anymore..." What is the double entendre of this quote?
Why does he only wear white clothes? Does this suggest something about him?
Interesting...before 9/11, no one would have ever thought about a plane hitting a building below the 95th floor...and would have rarely thought of a plane hitting a building at all...

"Even  though I'm not anymore, I used to be an atheist, which means I didn't believe in things that couldn't be observed. I believed that once you're dead, you're dead forever, and you don't feel anything, and you don't even dream. It's not that I believe in things that can't be observed now, because I don't. It's that I believe that things are extremely complicated." What does the narrator mean by this? What does this tell us about the narrator?
What is his mom holding and squeezing? What does this tell us about her?
Why does his grandmother bring up the fact that his grandfather loved animals more than he loved people? What does this tell us about their relationship?
"Zipping up the sleeping bag of myself" -- what does this phrase mean? What does it reveal about him?
Why does the narrator think his mom would rather have the narrator be dead than his father? How do you think this affects their relationship?
The second time he rode in a limo, he went with the renter to dig up his dad's coffin. Foreshadowing...

Besides the marking of the New York Times with a red pen (which is only anal if you're not an English teacher, by the way), how is his father characterized?
The narrator uses the phrase "made my boots lighter" a couple of times. What does this mean? What does it reveal about him?
What do you think the narrator's father said in the four messages that we didn't get to look at? What did his father say in that final phone conversation? What would you say?

Chapter 2: Why I’m Not Where You Are 5/21/63

What caused his grandfather to lose his words? How do you think this affects him and those around him?

"She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree." What do you make of this quote? What does this tell you?

Near the end of the chapter, the last half paragraph, his grandfather's thoughts become jumbled, almost manic in nature. These thoughts are followed by him pointing to the word HELP. What does this tell us about the relationship between the grandfather and grandmother? 

What is the significance of the picture in this chapter? How do you think it fits in?

Chapter 3: Googolplex

Oskar says that Sonny, the homeless person he knows, "puts me in heavy boots." What does this mean? How does he deal with this?
Why does Oskar put his father's messages into morse code jewelry? What does this tell us about Oskar? What does this tell us about the messages?
Interesting analogy about the beavers -- why do you think Oskar feels so far away from everything?
What is so alluring for a child about a parent's closet?
Why does Oskar give himself a bruise even though he shouldn't have? What does that mean?
Why is Oskar being so sneaky while trying to find out what the key is for? Why not ask his mother?
Why is he so indifferent about getting a letter and T-shirt from Ringo Starr? He says he's excited and he laminates the letter, but doesn't seem very excited...only mentioned briefly...And why did he receive them in the first place?
Why does Oskar put all of the images from his internet search in a file named "Stuff That Happened to Me", even though these things didn't actually happen to him? What is significant about the pictures in the chapter?
Why is Oskar's father's name written on the pads in the art store if the pads weren't there before he died? How is that possible?
Oskar seems to go to a lot of trouble to make sure his mom doesn't have the messages. Why not just erase them?
So is "the renter" a real person or just an imaginary friend of Oskar's grandmother?
The phone was a secret "that was a hole in the middle of me that every happy thing fell into." Why does he hold onto the phone so tightly and secretively, then?
Interesting list of people he loved...especially the order...what does this tell the reader about Oskar?
What is he conjugating at the end of the chapter? Why?

Chapter 4: My Feelings

What is so important about the letters that Oskar's grandmother is collecting? What is important about letters in general? As opposed to, say, emails or texts?

How could her grandmother love rivers and lakes if she had never learned to swim? Most non-swimmers would at least harbor fear -- if not hate -- of bodies of water...

What message was her grandmother trying to convey with the story of the ruby bracelet?

I found the sculpting story through the proposal to be very beautiful but tragic...I couldn't help but think of Jack and Rose in Titanic...What are your thoughts on this section? Why do you view this scene in this way?

Chapter 5: The Only Animal

I like Oskar's father's philosophy of existence...very simple, very true...or is it?
On his quest to find the Black on the envelope, Oskar lists the things he packs. What things stand out to you? Why do they stand out?
Oskar writes letters to famous scientists quite frequently, it seems. Have you ever written to someone famous? Did you get a reply?
What do you think Oskar's grandmother has nightmares about? How do you know this?
Why is Mr. Black crying?
Besides what is documented here in this chapter, what else do you think could be on the list of things only humans do?

Chapter 6: Why I’m Not Where You Are 5/21/63

"I change the sheets every morning to wash away my writing." What does this mean?
Looking at each of the rules that Thomas and his wife have, I have to wonder how each of the rules came into existence. Take a look at each rule. What do you think happened that made that rule a rule?

What is the history of Dresden? Look that up and see how that might have affected the grandparents.
On his last night with his wife, when he covers her eyes and says "Something", followed by "We must be", what is Thomas trying to communicate?
Here's a good question: It's 1963. He is writing a letter to his unborn son. How does he know it will be a boy?
Why does Anna's father bury books? I mean, the book kind of tells us, but think about it more...why does Anna's father bury the books?
Did you notice the difference between the two pictures of the door knob? Why is that difference significant? What do you think it represents?
What a tragic story about the writing of her life story...what does that symbolize? There is the obvious, but I think there is more. What do you think?
Explain why Thomas is leaving-- from your perspective, not his.
What happens at the end of the chapter on those one-sentence pages? Explain to the best of your ability...what happened there?
Simon Goldberg is an actual historical figure...figure out what he's about, and you will better understand the exchange between him and Thomas.