Open City

This novel deals with racism in both the US and Europe. How would you compare and contrast the racism portrayed in New York City and Brussels?

Julius’s imperfect memory often replaces reality with art. Choose an instance of this phenomenon. How does it inform a reader’s understanding of Julius?

Julius’s wanderings often take him through places that used to be other things, often markers of racist violence. How does one (or more) location(s) contribute to the theme of New York City as Palimpsest?

How does Julius treat different categories of disability and people with disabilities (such as blindness and deafness) differently?

Examine one of the mentions of Ground Zero, the World Trade Center, or 9/11 in the novel. How does it separate Julius’s present from the past and his memories?

Open City is bookended by Julius thinking about birds. How do his observations of groups of people reflect his birdwatching?

Several deaths are described in the novel. How do Julius’s memories of his father’s memorial differ from his response to the deaths of Saito and V.?

How do moments where Julius is mistaken for African American reflect his relationship to his own Nigerian (and German) heritage?