We hope these questions help guide your group's discussion of this stunning coming-of-age story: just make sure everyone is okay with spoilers first!
- Which narrative and textual elements do you think make Rat Daniels feel distinctly Australian?
- What would you say the key themes of the novel are?
- Events in the novel happen across different timelines. How did that affect you as a reader? How might the novel have been different if it had only been set in the past, or only in the present day?
- Which genre do you think Rat Daniels fits into? What novels would you compare it to?
- Do you think Rat and Jimmy’s friendship had a positive or negative impact on the people they become, or is it a mixture of both? How do you think Jimmy's or Rat’s lives might have been different if they’d never met each other?
- Did you find Alex Sawyer’s depiction of an Australian small town authentic? Is Edens Ridge similar or different to any places you’ve visited or lived in?
- How important is the Adelaide Hills setting and its community dynamic to the narrative of Rat Daniels? How might the story have been different if it was set somewhere else?
- Did you find Jimmy a likeable protagonist? Why or why not? Did you find that your perspective on Jimmy changed as the novel progressed?
- Did you find yourself thinking of Jimmy's or Rat’s actions as ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, or do you think it’s left up to the reader’s own interpretation? Did any particular moments in the novel test your judgement?
- Do you feel the ending of the novel had a satisfying resolution? Were you left with any unanswered questions?
- What do you think the future looks like for Rat and Jimmy, and why?
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An unforgettable coming-of-age story from a stunning new voice in Australian fiction, for those who love Mark Brandi, Favel Parrett and Tim Winton.
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