DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why has Joe Kellerman stayed in Africa so long?
2. What do they mean when some characters say that Umbikans need to learn how to walk before they can learn how to run? Do you agree with this idea?
3. Why is Connie Saunders so afraid of interacting with Maurice Hightower? Is her reaction to him justified?
4. Why does Joe become anxious and lose feeling in his extremities whenever he has to respond to a death case?
5. In the greater scheme of things, do you agree with the British and Norwegian diplomats at Joe’s dinner party when they say that foreign diplomats and ex-pat doctors, business leaders, and aid workers are more important to Africa than the average Umbikan?
6. What is the significance of the book’s title?
7. Is Joe Kellerman a sympathetic character?
8. Is Maurice Hightower a sympathetic character?
9. What is Fred’s function in the story?
10. Does Joe understand Hightower’s concerns about race in America? How does Joe’s backstory about senior prom give us a sense of the borders of his sensitivity to race and ethnic differences?
11. How does Hightower’s time in prison shape his character and life path?
12. At the tea farm, how does Pietr Ritt-Boorman’s discussion about Africa complicate the view that has shaped the novel to that point? What is the function of the dogs in the scene at the tea farm?
13. There are a lot of snake stories in the novel. How do characters react to snakes? What function do the snake stories serve?
14. Does Hightower’s interaction with the medicine man at the market change him? Why or why not?
15. Is Hightower’s behavior in Katembeyna consistent with or opposed to his reputation?
16. Why is Hightower drawn to Katembeyna? What is he seeking? He tells the emergency room doctor that in old age (if not before) a person must try to make up for mistakes he or she has made in life. What does he mean by that?
17. Joe’s efforts to treat Hightower’s injuries are awkward and painful for them both. How does this interaction change their relationship? Why might the author have included this scene in the story?
18. Why does Joe step out of his job duties to see that Hightower gets his wish at the end of the novel? Was it the right decision?