"I didn't want to think about how funny a man would have to be to deflect attention from his face."

Welcome back to the October 2015 edition of the Reader's Den! We are at part 2 of 3 of our discussion of Just Call Me Superhero by Alina Bronsky. If you need a copy of the book, then you can reserve a copy through the NYPL catalog; available in both print and electronic formats and available for checkout with your library card.

***There are some spoilers below. If you have not finished the book yet, then you may want to revisit this post at a future date.***

If you already have a copy, then join the discussion. There are questions throughout this post. However, feel free to highlight any points that came to mind as you read the book.

Marek agrees to attend the group (as a result of a bribe and his romantic interest in the beautiful Janne), the Guru announces that they will take a trip to a countryside estate and continue filming. During his trip, Marek continues to reject any attempts at friendship and forges ahead with his usual caustic approach. When his absent father dies, he is called home to pay his respects. To further complicate matters, he must grieve alongside his father's young second wife (Marek's former nanny) and his much younger half-brother. During this difficult time, he discovers that he does indeed need the support of those around him. We witness his struggle to make sense of these feelings in relation to his actions and attitude toward life.

Marek is certainly not a hero in the traditional sense. It can be argued that he performed a heroic deed, but even he has difficulty reconciling his actions with his thoughts.

• Is he an anti-hero? Why do some readers relate so readily with anti-heroes?
• When you learned the circumstances under which Marek was mauled, did this change your opinion of his behaviors and attitude? Is he justified in his response to the outside world and the treatment of those in his life?

There are two seemigly parallel storylines within the book. The first surrounds Marek's relationship with the Guru and the group members, and the second involves his complicated family dynamics. The two stories converge upon the death of Marek's father, whom we, like him, know very little about. During the repass of his father's funeral, Marek begins to take some consideration for the feelings of others in a way that he had not previous to this point. Rather than focusing so much of his attention inward, his ability to appreciate theroy of mind has grown tremendously over the past weeks.

• How do Marek's step-mother and half-brother help him come to terms with not only the death of his father but also his feelings about himself?
• Towards the end of the novel, Marek finds a list of names and birthdates.The support group members'names are marked with stars. I found it of note that the author chose not to explore this twist further. Were there any indications that the group members had so much in common? Would this novel have been possible if his knowledge had been revealed from the beginning?

These are the last lines of the book: "[I] had a feeling that by the time I got to Berlin my big speech would have dwindled to just a few words. And I wouldn't say them anyway. I turned toward the mirror and took off my glasses."

• How did you feel about the conclusion of the story?
• Are these short phrases enough to wrap up the larger issues within the story? Can or should those issues be fully resolved for the reader?

What to expect this month

Part 1: welcome, book introduction, and author information

Part 2: discussion and reflection (mid-month)

Part 3: concluding comments and read-a-likes (last day of month)

If you missed any previous Reader's Den discussions it is not too late to join in on those discussions now.

Happy reading!