Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What were your overall impressions of Hostage as a memoir? 

2. What was the most impactful moment in the book for you and why?

3. Did your understanding of the October 7 attacks or hostage experience change after reading this book? If so, in what ways?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and experiences with their own lives and values.

1. Sharabi frequently describes “managing” situations, emotions, and expectations as a way to survive. How do you relate to this idea of emotional or psychological self-management under stress?

2. How do you think you would respond in Sharabi’s situation? Did you relate to his response or the response of any of the other prisoners?

3. Sharabi emphasizes responsibility to fellow hostages, even when doing so involves personal risk. How do you understand the role of moral responsibility in extreme circumstances?

Examine the book’s relevance to broader historical, political, and cultural issues.

1. How does Hostage function as a form of eyewitness testimony within the context of the Israel-Hamas war? What responsibilities does such testimony carry?

2. The memoir highlights the use of hostages in propaganda and public spectacle. How does Sharabi’s account deepen your understanding of psychological warfare and media manipulation?

3. In what ways does the book raise questions about international responsibility and the visibility—or invisibility—of civilian suffering?

Analyze the book’s narrative techniques, themes, and structure.

1. How does Sharabi’s use of present-tense narration affect the immediacy and intensity of the memoir?

2. The memoir often juxtaposes small, mundane details with catastrophic events. How does this contrast shape the book’s realism and emotional power?

3. Sharabi recounts events in a direct, restrained style, even during moments of extreme violence and loss. How did this narrative approach affect the book’s emotional impact?

Encourage thoughtful, imaginative engagement with the book’s themes.

1. Imagine Hostage being adapted into a documentary. What elements of Sharabi’s storytelling would be most important to preserve, and why?

2. Sharabi frames his memoir as an act of witness. If you were to recommend this book to a specific audience (students, policymakers, book clubs, journalists), how would you contextualize it?