Man in the Corner book club notes

In his stunning debut novel, Man in the Corner, Nathan Besser asks: Can you become someone else without the world noticing?

David’s was a perfectly acceptable life – successful business, happy marriage, two children. But then he involves himself in an identity-theft crime worth millions of dollars, and his world is turned upside down. Take your book club on a journey into the shady streets of suburbia, and use the questions below to kick off a reading group discussion to remember.

READING GROUP QUESTIONS

• Man in the Corner author Nathan Besser is a first-time writer and formerly a small-business owner. How do you think his life experiences are reflected in the writing?
• In Man in the Corner, David becomes overwhelmed by synchronicities and believes there is something more sinister behind these ‘coincidences’. What do you think?
• We all go through periods of inertia in life. In what ways might a sluggish approach to life lead you to a life of crime?
• Do you have an opinion on the possibility of the ‘transmigration of souls’?
• Simon Baker, who has optioned screen rights, has called Man in the Corner a ‘modern noir’. Do you agree with this description and what do you think it implies?
• The story is carried by several very different voices. How do they compare to one another, and how does each further the themes of the novel?