The Lioness

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. What did you like about this book? What would you argue is its overall message?

2. What or who did you suspect was behind the attack as the novel unfolded? How close were you to guessing the reasons behind the kidnapping?

3. If you’ve read Bohjalian’s other historical fiction—for instance, The Jackal’s Mistress (2025) or Hour of the Witch (2021)—how does this novel compare? If this was your first time reading Bohjalian, what other writers would you compare him to?

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

1. Which character in the book did you most identify with, and what made you relate to them?

2. In your experience, does adversity tend to bring out the best or the worst in people? If it depends on the person, what do you think accounts for the difference?

3. Have you ever found your own personal relationships tested by adversity in travel? What did you learn from the experience? How does that experience resonate with the book’s events?

4. The characters often reflect on parallels between their experiences and those of the animals surrounding them. When have you looked to the natural world to make sense of your own life?

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

1. Discuss how the book depicts the impact of colonialism on Africa. Which aspects of this are still relevant in our own time?

2. The Lioness sounds a warning about human interference with nature. What about this warning do you think still resonates?

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

1. “Simba” is the Swahili word for “lion.” With this in mind, how does the off-screen presence of the Simbas relate to the novel’s overall use of animal imagery?

2. How did you respond to the novel’s use of rotating points of view? What do the differing perspectives add to the story?

3. What characters do you see as being foils for one another, and how does that help develop the book’s messages or themes? For instance, how do the men embody different conceptions of masculinity and bravery, or the women contrasting examples of resilience and resourcefulness?

4. Consider Carmen’s observation in the Epilogue that her experiences in Africa feel like a kind of fairy tale. Do you think the novel endorses this response? How does it intersect with the novel’s broader interest in themes of survival, trauma, subjectivity, colonialism, etc.?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. Imagine you are writing advertising copy for Charles Patton Safari Adventures for the year 1965. How would you balance attracting with acknowledging the infamous disaster of his 1964 expedition?

2. Suppose you work for an entertainment magazine and are writing an obituary for one of the characters who was killed on the safari. What would you say about them, as well as the circumstances surrounding their death?

3. Imagine you’re Billy and working on your memoir, The Soul in the Dark. What parts of your life would the memoir cover, and how would you structure it?