1. What is your over all sense of The Assassin's
Song? How would you describe it to a friend?
2. Do you find Karsan Dargawalla a sympathetic narrator? How
does his writing present his character to the reader? Why did M.G.
Vassanji choose to tell the novel in the hero's voice rather than,
for instance, an anonymous narrator's?
3. Why do you think M.G. Vassanji choose the title The
Assassin's Song for this book?
4. What is the importance of setting in the novel? One way to
approach this might be to compare the influences of rural India and
urban and suburban North America on Karsan.
5. "Isaac doesn't matter": how does M.G. Vassanji use the
biblical story of Isaac and Abraham in his novel? Can The
Assassin's Song be seen (in part) as a novel
about brothers?
6. Why does Karsan repudiate his father's legacy when he is
studying at Harvard?
7. What is the importance of poetry and music in The
Assassin's Song? You could consider English poetry and
Sufi ginans here.
8. Why does Karsan shield Mansoor from the police?
9. What is more important in The Assassin's
Song, fate or chance?
10. What do you think of the character of his Marge (Mira)
Thompson? Do you think she makes the right decisions about their
relationship?
11. What does The Assassin's Song have
to say about the importance of spirituality in the modern world?
You might compare its presentation of violence and tolerance in
India, Canada, America, and around the world.
12. Which minor character in the novel do you find most
compelling, and why?