In this novel, Oates explores the power of the American political system, so discussion could easily lead to comparisons to current issues about the use and abuse of political power and to the connection between political power and religious power.

1. Why does Oates title her novel The Assassins? Who are the assassins? Does assassination involve more than physical murder?

2. To what extent is assassination self-inflected? How do Hugh, Yvonne, and Stephen destroy themselves?

3. Compare and contrast Hugh's, Yvonne's, and Stephen's versions of Andrew's death. How does Oates achieve a distinctive voice for each of these characters? Whose story is the truest? Can one be truer than another?

4. How do Hugh, Yvonne, and Stephen assess their own guilt? How do you assess it?

5. Who is mad in this novel? Who is sane? When does sanity overstep into madness?

6. What is the relationship between charisma and power?

7. What...