Gentlemen of The Road

Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon

Discussion Questions

1. Have you read any of Michael Chabon’s other books? What do you think of this book compared to his others? What are the similarities and differences?

2. How do you think the world’s perception of Jews has changed since the 10th century? How has it remained the same?

3. What did you think of the illustrations? Did they create a different impression of the story for you? How did they add to or detract from the writing?

4. Can you tell that this book was originally a serial novel published in the New York Times Magazine? How do you think this changes the effect of the story?

5. What do you make of the two main characters being physical polar opposites?

6. How did the time period affect the telling of this story?

7. What was the nature of Amram and Zelikman’s partnership?

8. How did you feel about the way the characters spoke? Did you think it was true to the way of the 10th century?

9. Did the map in the book help to explain the setting?

10. Chabon is included in a group of authors sometimes referred to as the Jewish New Wave. This group includes Jonathan Safran Foer, his wife Nicole Krauss, and Gary Shteyngart. In light of the fact that the working title of this book was “Jews with Swords,” what do you think the central point of this work is?