The Locals (Dee) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to start your discussion for The Locals … then take off on your own:

1. The novel opens in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Talk about the ways that tragedy affected even those who weren't directly involved, people like Phil Hadi.

2. Hadi moves his family to Howland in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts and eventually wins a seat on the town's board of selectmen. How did you feel, initially, about his offer to forgo a salary, donate his recent tax break, and carry some of the town's expenses?

3. Hadi says, "Democracy doesn't really work anymore." What is his reasoning? Do you agree with his observation?

4. Talk about the changes Hadi makes to the town. Do you find any parallels to today, say, in terms of the growing use of surveillance technology?

5. How do the local residents come to view Hadi's wealth? How does it affect their perception of community and/or themselves?

6. Mark Firth is one of the more central characters within the novel. How would you describe him? What about his wife Karen and the couple's marriage? How do you feel about Phil Hadi's influence on Mark, especially when Mark begins to flip houses?

7. In addition to Mark Firth, Jonathan Dee populates his novels with a number of other townspeople. Do you find some more sympathetic than others? Overall, are Dee's characters well drawn—do they come alive, have depth?

8. Mark confesses he feels "like something is lacking in me," and when Phil Hadi attempts to console him, Mark responds that in America, "you're supposed to better yourself …to think big. Right?" Is he right?

9. There is an obvious class division within the pages of this novel. How does Dee portray those divisions, and at the same time offer up satire? Consider, for instance, his take on the tony new restaurant in town.

10. What do the citizens of Howland come to understand by the end of the novel?

m. Inequality has become a major social-politial issue in America. Does this book illuminate or muddy the issue?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

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