Last Night in Brooklyn

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel’s narrator, Alicia, is frequently compared to Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby, with La Garza and Devon serving as modern-day Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan figures. How effective did you find these parallels? In what ways did this connection to a classic story deepen your reading, or did you find it distracting?

2. What was your initial reaction to the novel’s structure, which starts near the end of the story in 2010 before flashing back to the key events of 2007? How did knowing the community’s fight was ultimately lost from the beginning shape your experience of reading about their hopes and struggles?

3. Consider the book’s ending. What did you make of Alicia’s final act of throwing a brick through the window of Devon’s luxury condo development? How did this act feel as a final statement for her character arc and as a commentary on gentrification?

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

1. Alicia feels caught between her working-class Canales family and the elite world of the Fortens, leaving her feeling like an outsider in both. Have you ever had to navigate between two very different social or cultural worlds? How did that experience shape your sense of self?

2. What role does “found family” play in the novel through Alicia’s friendships in Fort Greene? Consider the communities to which you belong; how important are chosen communities in your own life compared to your family of origin?

3. La Garza repackages her past for her IPO, and Alicia learns to change her handwriting to seem more “refined.” Where in your own life have you seen or felt pressure to alter parts of your identity to meet others’ expectations?

4. When has a place, like Alicia’s Fort Greene, been central to your sense of identity or belonging? How did it feel if that place began to change in ways that felt outside of your control?

5. Alicia’s decision to end her engagement to James shows a choice for a more authentic, uncertain future over a safe, prescribed one. Have you ever made a similar choice in your own life to follow a less conventional life path because you felt it resonated more strongly with your sense of self? How does Alicia’s journey toward self-discovery compare to your decision? 

6. The novel explores several different forms of ambition, from La Garza’s creative and financial drive to Devon’s focus on status and Marla’s social climbing. Do you try to embrace your ambitions in your own life, or do you temper your ambitions out of caution? Why?

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

1. The fight over the Atlantic Yards development is central to the plot. How does the novel’s depiction of gentrification as The Erasure of Working-Class Spaces compare to changes you’ve witnessed in your own or other communities? What does the story suggest about who wins and who loses in the battle for a city’s soul?

2. The story is set on the cusp of the 2008 financial crisis and the historic Obama-Clinton presidential primary. How does this historical backdrop add a layer of tension and dramatic irony to the characters’ personal ambitions and conflicts?

3. Xochitl Gonzalez has spoken about writing this novel as a corrective history for a version of Brooklyn that is vanishing. What is the role of fiction in preserving the memory of a specific time, place, and culture?

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

1. How does Alicia’s role as both a participant and an observer influence the story? In what ways does her personal involvement in the events surrounding La Garza and Devon make her a more complicated or perhaps less reliable narrator?

2. The proverb “El mono sabe en qué palo trepa,” or “The monkey knows the tree it climbs” (3), is a recurring motif. How does your understanding of this saying evolve throughout the story? Does the novel ultimately seem to support this fatalistic view or challenge it, particularly in relation to La Garza’s tragic end?

3. What is the significance of the custom-made suits La Garza designs? How do they function as symbols of aspiration and power, especially in the charged scene where she fits Devon for a new suit embroidered with the initials “HBTY”?

4. Let’s discuss Devon as the novel’s antagonist. What does his inability to break free from his family’s expectations reveal about the nature of privilege and class in the story? Why do you think he ultimately abandons La Garza for a second time?

5. In what ways does this novel serve as social commentary on class, race, and urban development? If you’ve read other works that blend storytelling with sharp social critique, like Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, how does Gonzalez’s approach compare?

6. What does the WATCHTOWER sign on the Brooklyn skyline represent to Alicia and her community? How does its meaning evolve from a protective beacon to a monument for a “Lost City” as the neighborhood changes?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Music is essential to the book’s atmosphere, from Matteo’s DJ sets to the Soul Summit parties. If you were creating a soundtrack for Last Night in Brooklyn, what songs or artists would you choose to capture the energy of “Buppy Bohemia” and the emotional journey of the characters?

2. Imagine you’re writing an epilogue set 10 years after the novel concludes. What future would you envision for Alicia? Do you think she ever reconnects with Matteo or hears from Devon again?

3. If you could add one scene to the book from a different character’s perspective, whose would it be and why? For instance, what might we learn from seeing the tense Hamptons brunch through Marla’s eyes, or the final party at Freddy’s through Matteo’s?