Conversation About CRIMINAL
Book clubs are one of my favorite things, ever. It’s why I’m in two of them and lead two others. Reading the same thing and talking about it with smart, interesting people enhances the book experience by a hundred, at least, which is why I feel so grateful to the members of what I call my Lawyer Ladies book club (because most of them are lawyers) for helping me come up with these discussion questions about Criminal!
1. Nikki is deeply influenced by her boyfriend, Dee, but what about the women in her life? How do you think she is positively (or negatively) affected by each of them?
2. Have you ever been in Bird’s position—friends with someone who stays with a boy/girl friend whom you know is bad for them? What are the difficulties of this situation?
3. Why do you think Nikki has such incredibly low self-esteem at the beginning of the novel? What factors in her life have led to this?
4. There’s very little physical description of the characters in Criminal. Did this affect your ability to connect with them? Where in the book were you able to see and understand them outside of a physical description?
5. There are very few positive male role models in Nikki’s life. How much of an impact do you think that has had on her, and who she has become as a young woman?
6. What is your initial impression of Nikki at the beginning of Criminal? Does that viewpoint change? How and where?
7. What events and interactions cause Nikki to fully understand her role in Deputy Palmer’s murder? How do they affect her evolution as a person?
8. What business is left unfinished at the end of Criminal? Are there elements of the story that you wish had been more clearly tied up? What can you imagine happening to the characters after the book’s close?
9. What, if any, of your own biases and assumptions were challenged by reading Criminal?
And, lastly, my personal favorite:
10. When and how have you been like Nikki?
From my book club to yours, I hope any conversation you have about Criminal is a stimulating one!