Camino Island

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Camino Island marks a departure from John Grisham’s usual legal thrillers like A Time to Kill. Did this shift in subject matter from courtrooms to rare books and writers’ communities make the novel more or less engaging for you?

2. Which storyline in the novel captured your interest most completely?

3. What surprised you most about the novel’s resolution and Bruce’s ultimate success?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Mercer uses her grandmother’s standards as a moral compass when making difficult decisions. Who in your life has served as a similar guide for your own choices?

2. Would you have accepted Elaine’s offer to go undercover as Mercer did?

3. The novel explores various compromises writers make between artistic integrity and commercial success. When have you faced similar tensions in your professional or creative life?

4. Bruce has carefully crafted his public persona through his distinctive dress and community involvement. When have you consciously shaped how others perceive you?

5. Camino Island holds great emotional significance for Mercer. What place or places in your own life hold that same importance for you, and why?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel centers on the theft of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s original manuscripts, valued at $25 million. What does this immense valuation reveal about our cultural relationship with literary artifacts versus the actual content of books?

2. In what ways has this novel changed your perception of what it means to be a professional writer in today’s publishing landscape?

3. Bruce, Elaine, and Denny each justify their illegal actions through different rationalizations. What does the novel suggest about society’s flexible standards for which rules can be bent or broken?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. What meaning do the turtles hold as symbols in Mercer’s journey through grief?

2. Discuss the importance of Bruce’s seersucker suit to his carefully constructed public persona. What symbolic significance does the seersucker suit hold? What other elements in the novel reveal important character traits?

3. The theme of “The Perfect Plan” runs throughout the novel. Which character best demonstrates the virtues necessary for executing such a plan successfully?

4. Grisham structures the novel into eight titled chapters, each focusing on different aspects of the story. In what ways does this structural choice affect the pacing and revelations within the narrative?

5. Consider the novel’s treatment of the topic of grieving and loss. How does Grisham use Mercer’s journey to offer specific insights about the grieving process?

6. In what ways does Camino Island compare to novels like Paula McLain’s The Paris Wife, which similarly explores the world of famous literary figures through a fictional lens?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were designing your own independent bookstore, what distinctive persona would you adopt to become a memorable local character like Bruce?

2. The novel presents Bruce’s idea for a fictional story about Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. What intriguing fictional scenario could you imagine involving two real literary figures?

3. Imagine you’re invited to one of the Camino Island writers’ dinner parties and asked to contribute to Mercer’s “literary intervention.” What genre or writing approach would you recommend she explore?

Need more inspiration for your next meeting? Browse all of our Book Club Resources