The Genocides will likely make some readers angry, which is okay because the novel is not meant to be a happy one. In it, all the traits we human beings like in ourselves and all the traits we despise add up to pointlessness: We are insignificant pests in a universe that is indifferent to our joys and our pain. Even though it may put some readers off, The Genocides offers substance for discussion. Note its satirical elements. Are they clues to the point Disch is trying to make? Is the novel a logical, well-unified whole? Has humanity ever done to other species what is done to it in the novel? Where is the moral high ground, if any?

1. Does The Genocides have any traits typical of first novels?

2. How satisfying is the ending of the novel? Disch wanted something that was aesthetically appropriate. Is it?

3. Do...