A LONG WAY DOWN
Discussion Questions

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PART OF
REWARDS: a Multi-Part Learning Program

1. A LONG WAY DOWN features four main characters -- Martin, Maureen, Jess, and J.J.

• Who do you feel the most/least sympathy for, and why?

• Which character tries the hardest to help the others?

• Do you find any of these characters inspiring? Who and why?

• Who makes the most progress by the end of the novel?

2. Critics often credit Nick Hornby with initiating a new literary genre, "lad lit," that dissects the foibles of emotionally stunted, irredeemably passive men. Would Martin or J.J. fit into the category of "lad lit"?

3. Maureen likes to pretend that her son Matty is "normal." Do you think this fantasy is healthy? Explain.

4. Why did Jess call the intervention? Was it successful?

5. Consider how the book ends, with the four character staring at a Ferris wheel in the distance. Why do you think the author ended the novel this way? Do you consider the ending happy, sad, or somewhere inbetween?

6. Production has already begun on a Hollywood film version of this novel. Johnny Depp will play one of the starring roles.

• Which character do you think Depp will play, and why?

• Who would you cast in the other three roles?

• If you were an actor, which character would you be most likely to play, and why?

Created August 2006