1. When do you think the action of the novel occurs? Is there a
reason the time was left vague? Is this the "real" New York
City?
2. At what point did you begin to suspect that Chase Insteadman
was living a fiction? At what point in their story do you think
Perkus Tooth understood that Chase had been deceived about his
role?
3. Can you accept that Oona Laszlo is responsible for the
letters attributed to Janice Trumbull? Is it possible, as a writer,
to create another human being more generous, large-hearted, and
responsive than yourself?
4. What is the meaning of the wild animals that intrude on the
lives of these Manhattanites -- the eagles, the tiger? Do they have
anything to do with the weather?
5. Have you ever felt that the place where you lived or grew up
was being turned into a ''simulacrum'' of itself?
6. Have you ever tried to care for someone impossible? Are you
now? Does Perkus Tooth remind you of anyone in your own life, or
did you find Chase''s decision to befriend him misguided?
7. At different points in CHRONIC CITY Perkus Tooth seems to
attempt to sustain himself completely on culture and language,
then, alternately, to try to leave culture and language entirely
behind and live a "pure" life. Do you think either approach is
possible?
8. The author''s working title for CHRONIC CITY was "MANHATTAN".
The Woody Allen film by that name was often criticized for
depicting a Manhattan consisting only of the white upper middle
class. Is CHRONIC CITY self-aware about the limitations of its
characters? Does Chase Insteadman''s response to the black kids he
meets near the Urban Fjord, or to the black man in the jail cell
imply another version of Manhattan creeping into view?
9. What does the gray fog hide?
10. Was Chase unfair to Oona? Should he give her another
chance?