The Impossible Fortune

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you like most about the story? What did you like the least? Why?

2. You can find summaries and analyses of Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series here: The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet That Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. In what ways does The Impossible Fortune differ from its predecessors in the series? How is it similar?

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

1. Which of the four main characters do you find most relatable, and why? Which one is the most like you?

2. As you have aged, has your understanding of The Importance of Friendship and Community evolved or changed? If so, how?

3. In Ibrahim’s role as a psychiatrist, he’s able to provide perceptive insight and advice, but struggles to turn that same perceptive lens on himself. Have you ever experienced a disconnect between the advice you give to others and your ability to follow it yourself?

4. Osman describes Joyce and Elizabeth as complementary counterparts—each of them brings strengths to the fr 1. Which of the four main characters do you find most relatable, and why? Which one is the most like you?

iendship that the other lacks. Is there a friend in your life who acts as a similar counterpart for you?

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

1. How does Osman’s portrayal of Bitcoin contribute to contemporary debates around the emergence of cryptocurrency? Do you have any experience with Bitcoin or other types of cryptocurrency? If so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of its use? If not, what gives you pause or keeps you from exploring it?

2. Ron and Jason hold on to their counter-cultural principle of refusing to “grass” until they are compelled to prioritize Suzi and Kendrick’s safety at the expense of their personal code. How does Osman’s novel explore the complex relationship lower-income communities have with the police? Is there value to ideas like this: that one doesn’t inform on others’ wrongdoing when one can simply handle the problem oneself? If so, what is the value? If not, why not?

3. Ibrahim reveals to Joanna that he was once in love with a man, though it isn’t revealed what happened to Marius. He also seems to be the member of the club who struggles most with loneliness. In what way(s) might society’s views on homosexuality have influenced Ibrahim’s loneliness in his old age?

4. Are the complexities of aging more difficult than the realities of youth? Why or why not? What do we gain, even as we lose some things?

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

1. In The Impossible Fortune, Osman frequently shifts between the various characters’ points of view, including both his protagonists and secondary characters. How did this choice impact the experience of reading the novel? How would the novel have been different if he had told the story from a single point of view?

2. Each of the four main characters is dynamic, calling attention to the idea that people can continue to grow and develop throughout their lives. Did you find their changes to be realistic? Why or why not?

3. Analyze the role of dramatic irony in the text. When is it used? To what end?

4. How does Osman use the characters of Tia and Kendrick—the book’s two youngest characters—to subvert common assumptions about the young and their capabilities? How does his portrayal of them compare to his characterization of the octogenarians in the story?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Watch the film version of Osman’s first novel in the series, The Thursday Murder Club. Do you like the casting? Would you recast any of the main characters if you could? Who, and why?

2. Imagine a sixth installment of the Thursday Murder Club series. Which characters would you like Osman to explore more deeply?