Atom and Eve (Yager) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1. The very first line in Atom and Eve is this quote by the author: “Men and women will never truly understand each other until they switch roles and view life from the other’s perspective.” This is a primary theme in the novel and leads us to wonder how we would react to such changes.  Have you ever thought about what it might be like if you were born as the opposite sex to what you are now?

2. The novel is “set in the near future,” which puts it in the category of “sci-fi.” Why do you think a novelist uses the literary device of setting a novel in the future rather than writing about what’s going on in the present or even in the recent past?

3. Who is your favorite character in Atom and Eve? Why?

4. Who is your least favorite character in Atom and Eve? Why?

5. A key theme in Atom and Eve is how the drug to cure or prevent the pandemic flu starts to have gender-bending consequences. Do you think there is the possibility of someone inventing such a drug? What traits do men have that women might actually benefit from? And what traits do women have that men usually lack that might actually help men?

6. One of the social and political hypotheticals in the novels is that there is a female presidential candidate in the United States, Kendra Martin. Looking ahead to the next presidential election, do you see this as a possibility? Why? Why not? Why do you think there has not yet been a female presidential candidate or president in the United States? Do you see that changing in the near or distant future? Why? Why not?

7. Have you ever thought about how drugs are tested or approved by a government? What did you learn about how that process occurs in the novel that you think mirrors or contradicts what really happens? How long do you think it usually takes to get a new drug or vaccine tested and approved by the federal government?

8. If you were the author of Atom and Eve, are there any characters you would have depicted differently, or plot points that you would have changed? Why?

9. If you could ask the author one question about his novel, what would it be?

10. Find the scene and dialogue you like the most in the novel and pair up with someone else in the Reading Group to act out that scene for the group. Let’s discuss those characters, the scene, and the dialogue. Why did you pick that particular scene and dialogue out from the novel?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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