Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What are your general feelings about the narrator and protagonist, Marco Stanley Fogg? What is your stance on his determination to prioritize his fanciful ideas about life over the inconvenient realities of existence?

2. Moon Palace employs elements from the picaresque genre, which is strongly represented in modern United States literature through novels like A Confederacy of Dunces (1980), by John Kennedy Toole. How well does Moon Palace fit into this genre? Is it right to call it a picaresque novel, or does it subvert the genre?

3. How does Fogg’s tendency to spoil his own narrative affect your experience of reading the novel?

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

1. Are people defined by their circumstances or by the stories they tell themselves? How might you relate to Fogg’s quest to define himself? (Consider the story of his upbringing and his family circumstances.)

2. Do you believe that the universe has inherent meaning, or is it inherently chaotic? Do you resonate with Fogg’s tendency to look for meaning in everything that happens to him? Why or why not?

3. What role does chance play in your life? Do you try to plan things with a certain degree of randomness in mind, or do you try to leave as little room for chance as possible? How does your approach to life compare to Fogg’s outlook?

4. Solomon finds personal strength in a physical trait that most people exploit as a vulnerability. What vulnerabilities have you secretly transformed into strengths?

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

1. Auster’s novel offers a glimpse of 1970s New York. How does this description compare or contrast with other novels that feature the same setting, like Just Kids (2010) by Patti Smith or Let the Great World Spin (2009) by Colum McCann? What parts of historical New York does Auster omit from his narrative?

2. How does the novel comment on the role that mythmaking plays in nation-building? Discuss the various myths that the novel references. How do they function in the context of other historical events at the time?

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

1. Discuss the novel’s reflections on truth in the modern day. Is truth still important, or do emotions have a stronger influence on the way people choose to live? Which characters reflect each side of this debate?

2. Discuss Auster’s use of interpolated narratives in the novel. Why does he embark on long digressions into other characters’ lives, and how do these detours contribute to the novel’s thematic ideas?

3. How does the depiction of Kitty represent Auster’s broader approach to writing female characters? What other characters support your evaluation?

4. The typical picaresque novel typically eschews plot in favor of an episodic structure. Is Auster’s novel effectively plotless? If so, how does this affect your understanding of what defines a novel? If not, what evidence can you offer to suggest the novel’s plot trajectory?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine what happens to Fogg after he reaches the Pacific Coast. Based on his narrative voice, what kind of life might he be living  when he starts to write his story?

2. Following Effing’s example, write an obituary for any of the characters in the novel. What aspects of their lives did you focus on? What parts did you choose to leave out, and why?