Spirited discussions of The Ginger Man are likely to begin with assessments of the hero's character and how individual readers "read" his ruthlessness and his disregard for the bodies and the dignity of others. One way to focus this discussion might be to compare Dangerfield's dream of wealth and power with that of his close friend Tony Malarkey, who lives in poverty in "the Dungeon" while fleeing from his creditors.

1. Discuss Dangerfield's relationships with Kenneth O'Keefe, the "Absent Duke of Serutan." Does Donleavy intend us to see Kenneth as Sebastian's victim? America's? his own?

2. Does the book seem as ribald as it must have to the censors in 1955? It was a cause celebre then. Has it prepared the way for more candid discussions of sexuality?

3. Are Sebastian's articulations of middle-class cliches mockery, hypocrisy, or irony?

4. Does Clocklan's sudden fortune and his liberating Dangerfield from having to...