Topic 1

What do you think Doctorow’s purpose was in structuring the novel as he did? What meaning did you derive from the structure? How did the structure make you view the story?

Topic 2

How do science and religion interact in the novel? How does religion interact with the intellect in the novel? What meaning does religion seem to have for the survivors of war and the Holocaust?

Topic 3

Why does Pem believe that the words of faith and concepts of God must be reborn? What does he mean when he suggests that men change God when they alter their definitions and view of God? How does religion interact with the modern world in this novel?

Topic 4

What do evolution and the Big Bang have to do with the events of the novel? How are these scientific ideas viewed by the characters in the novel? How do...