Kavalier and Clay Book Club Questions

We are so glad that the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Book Club kits were so popular! But we know not everybody who wanted one was able to get one. The page includes each of the discussion questions provided in the kit, and it can be printed for use during your book club. However, if you would prefer the printable PDF copy, please email libcomm@iu.edu.

• When we are first introduced to Sammy Klayman, we are told: “Houdini was a hero to little men, city boys, and Jews; Samuel Louis Klayman was all three. He was seventeen when the adventures began: bigmouthed, perhaps not quite as quick on his feet as he liked to imagine, and tending to be, like many optimists, a little excitable... He slouched, and wore clothes badly: he always looked as though he had just been jumped for his lunch money.” Discuss this description. What does this portrayal suggest about growing up in urban America in the late 1930’s?
• Why does Houdini appeal to Sammy and Joe?
• Escape, literally and figuratively, is everywhere in this novel. Why do you think Michael Chabon and the characters in the novel place so much importance on it? From what and to what are the different characters in the novels escaping? When is escape good in the novel, and when is it bad? Can the character of Joe Kavalier ever quit trying to escape, whether it is from places, like Prague and New York, or from relationships, like Rosa and Sammy? When Sammy leaves for LA, is this an escape, and if so, is it good or bad? Why do characters in this novel seem to be trying to escape relationships, and what are the different types of relationships that can be binding? Does the escaping end at the conclusion of the novel?
• What is the significance of characters’ changing names in the novel?
• Compare the theme of escape in the novel to the escapist nature of art. In what ways does Chabon explore this in his novel through the art of magic, painting, and comics?
• Why was it difficult for Sam to accept that he was gay? How does he come to terms with his sexuality?
• What similarities do you observe between The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and the Superman comics?
• In Jewish folklore, a Golem is a creature (frequently made of clay) that has been brought to life with magical Hebrew incantations because Jewish communities need help in some way. What is the significance of the Golem in this novel?
• The Escapist’s anti-Nazi statements and actions concerned Sam and Joe’s employers and publishers. What are the challenges of balancing social advocacy and private enterprise? Can you think of any issues today that would provide a similar challenge?
• Did you find the ending of the story satisfying? If not, what alternative ending would you have liked to see?
• Michael Chabon wrote this book in 2001, nearly 60 years after the end of the Second World War and the Holocaust. What can fictional stories, like this novel, that involve the Holocaust offer contemporary audiences who would like to learn about the Holocaust? What are some of the limitations?
• The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is presenting the world premiere of an operatic adaptation of this novel in November 2024. The music is written by Mason Bates, and Gene Schneer created the libretto (the script in operas). In your view, what are some of the challenges creators might encounter with transforming this novel into an opera? What do you think would work well in a theatrical adaptation that centers musical storytelling? What would not work at all?
• If you were tasked with creating a play based on this novel, what part(s) of the story would you focus on/emphasize, and what would you leave out to still tell a compelling theatrical story? Why?

This DIY book club kit is a partnership between IU Libraries, the Jacobs School of Music, and the William and Gayle Cook Music Library. 

Special thanks to Nicolette van den Bogerd, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Scholar for the Borns Jewish Studies Program at Indiana University Bloomington for creation of the book discussion cards in this packet. Graphic design by David Orr, IU Libraries Graphic Designer. 

Some questions are quoted/adapted from these sources: 

chipublib.org/blogs/post/discussion-questions-the-amazing-adventures-of-kavalier-clay

 readinggroupguides.com/reviews/the-amazing-adventures-of-kavalier-and-clay/guide

 bookmovement.com/bookDetailView/22625/The-Amazing-Adventures-Of-Kavalier-&-ClayMichael-Chabon

supadu.macmillan.com/folio-assets/rgg-guides/9780312282998RGG.pdf